Trinity Stories

Dear Friends,

At the end of this month, I will have been serving Trinity Toledo for nine months – the halfway point of my agreement as Interim Rector with your Vestry. “Time flies when you’re having fun” – so goes the old saying. And it has been fun to be with you! The parish accurately reflects the four words often used to describe it: progressive, inclusive, creative, downtown.

Let me add one more word (although I’m not proposing we add it to our communications.) The word is “involved.” At the Vestry retreat this past February, we decided that one of the things we could do to strengthen Trinity before your next rector comes was to expand the involvement of parishioners in the life and leadership of the parish. This is happening! And it’s happening more quickly than I ever imagined. Let me share the evidence with you.

More than 35 people serve in one of the pods that make Trinity’s weekly community breakfast possible. In addition to those helping through the pods, several other parishioners are present every week to pitch in – welcoming everyone to My Brother’s Place, joining with our neighbors in table fellowship, and washing dishes (we see you, Sean Patrick!). A similar number of members and friends of all ages have helped bring the restored Plaza to life, hauling bags of dirt, topsoil, and mulch from the street to the upper level, planting native species, vegetables, pumpkins, and sunflowers. Someone came to stake the tomatoes this week; another person regularly checks the moisture level in the soil and opens the drip irrigation system to keep the garden watered.

The newly-formed Parish Life Committee has many new participants who have sponsored or will sponsor activities that help build community – events like “Baseball with the Bishop” on Father’s Day, the Mac & Cheese Bakeoff last weekend that welcomed over 60 people to the Parish House, and the upcoming Fourth of July celebration on the Plaza – one of the best places to view Toledo’s Fireworks display. A subgroup is beginning to look at how we can better care for each other when the delivery of a meal, or a ride to an appointment, or being a helpful presence when a death occurs in a family.

The Adult Spiritual Formation Committee has planned two activities this summer and will offer Sunday classes in the fall in preparation for the November elections – everything from the mechanics of voting (voter registration, IDs needed to vote) to how we can disagree with our families and friends without being disagreeable. And this coming Sunday, June 30, we’ve invited parents to gather for a “lunch and learn” about hopes for Christian formation programming this fall for children and youth.

The committee planning for our celebration of Pride in late August has organized itself and meets regularly.

Behind the scenes, members of the Finance Committee monitor cash flow, budgets, and investments. A Property Task Force recently studied and prioritized what work needs to be done to ensure that our buildings are in good shape and are safe and secure.

The eight-member Search Committee recently completed a significant phase of its work and hopes to release the Parish Profile and the Office of Transition Ministry portfolio to the wider church at the beginning of August.

Last but definitely not least, attendance at Sunday services this summer – even with the choir on hiatus – keeps growing! So Trinity is progressive, inclusive, creative, downtown and involved.

Have you found your ministry at Trinity? St. Paul used a metaphor to remind one of the churches he planted that the Body of Christ needs eyes and ears and hands and feet – that it needs all the parts – to function effectively. If anything I’ve mentioned in this letter appeals to you enough that you want to be part of it, contact the Parish Office – (419) 243-1231 or trinity@trinitytoledo.org. And if you have a burning desire to start a new ministry, let us know that, too. There are many ways to discover a ministry that brings you a sense of joy and fulfillment!

I can’t wait to see what happens in the second half of my time as your Interim Rector.

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

The 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church begins this coming Sunday, June 23, in Louisville, Kentucky. The General Convention is the triennial churchwide gathering where leaders are elected to important positions in The Episcopal Church, legislation is considered and acted upon, networking and fellowship connect people from over 100 different dioceses, and celebratory worship takes place.

An advance team, members of the Episcopal Church staff, have been in Louisville for several days preparing for legislative committee meetings and other pre-Convention events. One of the most anticipated of the pre-Convention events will take place today (June 21) at 7:00 pm, when Presiding Bishop Michael Curry headlines a revival at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center. You can find out more about the revival here.

This General Convention marks the last one for Curry as Presiding Bishop. His successor will be elected by the House of Bishops in a closed meeting of the bishops on June 26 and installed as the next Presiding Bishop during a service to be held on November 1 in Washington National Cathedral.

Five bishops are standing for election as the 28th presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church. They are Nebraska Bishop J. Scott Barker, Central New York Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe, Pennsylvania Bishop Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez, Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright and Northwestern Pennsylvania Bishop Sean Rowe, who also serves as bishop provisional of the Diocese of Western New York.

To give you some sense of the size and scope of the General Convention, Episcopal News Service reports that more that 10,000 people are expected to gather in Louisville. Deputations from 108 dioceses, along with the Episcopal Church in Navajoland and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, were invited to attend.

Registered attendees include 167 bishops, two bishop-elects, 829 deputies and 239 alternate deputies. All the hotel rooms reserved for the convention are booked, and General Convention even had to increase its blocks of reservations – about 21,000 “room nights” – because of the high demand.

The General Convention, like the United States Congress, is a bicameral body. As the church’s primary governing body, it splits its authority between the House of Bishops, comprised of all bishops (both active and retired), and the House of Deputies, comprised of clergy and lay deputies elected by their respective dioceses.

In addition to the election of the next Presiding Bishop, who will serve for a term of nine (9) years, the House of Deputies will elect its President and Vice President. Julia Ayala Harris, as the incumbent House of Deputies president, is running for re-election against two challengers, Zena Link and the Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton, who is the sitting vice president.

Three people have declared candidacies for the House of Deputies’ vice president: the Rev. Charles Graves IV of the Diocese of Texas, the Rev. Ruth Meyers of the Diocese of California, and the Rev. Steve Pankey of the Diocese of Kentucky. Episcopal Church Canons require that the positions of President and Vice President be held by leaders from different orders, clergy and lay, so the outcome of the presidential election will determine who, if anyone, will be eligible on the ballot for vice president.

If you’d like to know more about the worship services a General Convention click on this link. And, more than you could ever want to know about the Convention can be found at The Episcopal Church’s Media Hub.

Following the June 23-28 General Convention will help you learn more about the wider Episcopal Church.

I ask you to join me in praying for those who are traveling to Louisville, those who are casting ballots, and those who are giving of their time to serve the Episcopal Church as faithful disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.

Finally, please join me in giving thanks for Presiding Bishop Curry’s faithful and exuberant ministry. Through his preaching and presence, he has represented The Episcopal Church in remarkable ways – preaching at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, appearing frequently with Hoda and Jenna on The Today Show, and thrilling participants during one of his 27 different revivals since he became Presiding Bishop in November 2015.

May God bless the work of the 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church!

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

For many years, Trinity’s Sunday service has blessed worshipers who have attended in person or at home through our pre-recorded Trinity@Home services and, more recently, our live broadcasts. The music – drawn from traditional hymns, praise songs, Gospel music, and “secular” offerings – has been a special strength. Prayers and statements of faith have also been gathered and carefully curated to respond to the spiritual needs of parishioners and guests. Trinity has often pushed the boundaries of what could be considered “Episcopalian” as we have striven to be a progressive, inclusive, and creative community of faith. Most of all, Trinity’s worship has consistently been joyful – it’s been a communal act of praise honoring the God who loves the world so much that he gave his Son Jesus for us.

One of the things that appealed to me about serving as your interim was the way you worshiped. I passionately believe there’s a place for innovation and creativity in worship in The Episcopal Church because much of the church’s traditional worship and music, while beautiful, has little appeal to a large segment of people seeking to pray with others in community. I say this as someone who grew up with traditional worship and as a priest who still loves the way the Anglican tradition “marries” music and liturgy.

With these things as background, I’m writing to let you know of some changes in Trinity’s worship that will take effect starting next Sunday, June 23.

At the recent Clergy Conference, Bishop Anne directed the clergy who serve the parishes in the Diocese of Ohio to use only worship resources authorized by The Episcopal Church for the principal Sunday service. Such resources are those authorized by the General Convention of the church, and, in some cases, those approved by the diocesan bishop. The church’s Book of Common Prayer is the best-known of these. In addition, resources from the Enriching our Worship series may also be used. You can find a complete list of authorized resources here.

What will not be affected?

• Bishop Anne’s directive will not affect music. Chelsie and Grace, who perform an extraordinary ministry picking music that reflects themes found in the weekly readings, will continue to be able to choose music from all the sources they already are using. This is a huge piece of good news, since a good deal of the joy and power of Trinity’s worship derives from the music we hear and sing together.
• It will not affect the Prayers of the People. We will still be able to pray in such a way that highlights certain intentions and current concerns. For example, the Prayers of the People for the last two weeks have highlighted Pride and Gun Violence. We’ll continue to find and use prayers like these that are relevant.
• It will not affect the blessing at the end of the service. The blessing will continue to be sung or said, or some combination of the two.

What will be affected?

• The opening prayers or “collects.” For some time. we have drawn each Sunday’s opening prayer from Steven Shakespeare’s Prayers for an Inclusive Church. Going forward, the opening collect will come from The Book of Common Prayer. I have respectfully requested that Bishop Anne allow Trinity to use Steven Shakespeare’s collects since they reflect the themes of the readings and point to a world that bears the marks of God’s kingdom. I am waiting for the bishop to reply.
• The “statement of faith.” Trinity has used the Nicene Creed in a rotation with other statements of faith, none of which has been authorized. So, with the exception of Sundays when we’ll use the Apostles’ Creed because there’s a baptism, we’ll recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday.
• The Post-Communion Prayer where, instead of sourcing a prayer from Steven Shakespeare or some other location, we’ll use a prayer from Enriching Our Worship or the prayer book.

These changes give me the opportunity to provide some important information, as this parish moves through the transition to your next rector, about who has responsibility for worship:

• The bishop has the authority and responsibility for worship in his/her/their diocese. As a priest, my authority to baptize, celebrate the Holy Eucharist, and officiate at other rites of the Church is derived from Bishop Anne’s authority. She appointed me as your interim (with the Vestry’s input), and she has licensed me to serve in the Diocese of Ohio. Your next rector’s authority when it comes to worship will also be derived from Bishop Anne.
• Subject to the pastoral direction of Bishop Anne, your next rector will have full authority and responsibility for the conduct of worship at Trinity. Your next rector may delegate some authority to staff members or share responsibility with others, but the rector will have the last word when it comes to liturgy and music.

As your interim, I will continue to advocate respectfully and tirelessly for permission to use liturgical resources that represent “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3) and, at the same time, touch the hearts and minds of God’s people in the 21st Century. I will do this because Trinity’s progressive, inclusive, and creative worship has a great deal to offer those who are already part of this community and those who are longing for authentic contemporary expressions of faith.

Please let me know of your questions and concerns (which is another way of saying, “speak to me directly about this rather than holding parking lot conversations or grumbling to others about your unhappiness.” I want to hear from you directly!)

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear friends,

Today is the observance of the 10th annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and the kick-off of Wear Orange Weekend. Last year during Trinity’s Wear Orange Sunday service, we had a community conversation about our hopes and fears about gun violence, and our ideas for addressing it (here is the harvest from that conversation). One of the ideas was to join with other local faith communities to address the epidemic of gun violence. The previous day, I had marched in the Old West End Festival parade with Moms Demand Action and met Mike Linehan, a parishioner from Olivet Lutheran Church. Mike and I had a brief conversation about how our two faith communities were wrestling with the issue of gun violence, and exchanged contact information. Later in June, we began to work together on what is now unofficially called the Multifaith Coalition to Reduce Gun Violence. I say unofficially because that name is often confused with the long-established Multifaith Council of Northwest Ohio (a group that promotes interfaith cooperation), so we are exploring how to “brand” our infant group. In the last year, we have held four public forums which have each been attended by between 60-80 people. Trinity graciously hosted the October 8 forum. Topics have included survivor testimonies, legislative advocacy training, safe gun storage, and updates on the City of Toledo’s new Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), which has been working with the community since last summer to develop a five-year plan to reduce gun violence. Prayer has been included in each forum. Over 200 people from 41 northwest Ohio congregations representing many faith traditions have participated in at least one forum, including an impressive 39 Trinity parishioners. Thank you for your commitment to help reduce gun violence!

I have learned a lot about gun violence in the past year. I have participated in countless meetings, training sessions, educational programs and advocacy efforts. I have met many people who are working to prevent gun violence in northwest Ohio, some of whom are now friends. The biggest thing that I have learned this year is that survivors are the leaders of the movement to reduce gun violence. They need and deserve our support. They welcome us to walk with them as allies. I have participated in the Victims and Survivors working group of the MONSE Community Action Table, one of eight groups that are making recommendations to be included in the City’s five-year plan. The MONSE process has been victim and survivor-centered. The voices that have been amplified are those closest to the issue. One of the recommendations of our working group is to create a Compassion and Healing Fund for Gun Violence Victims and Survivors, to provide immediate financial support after the unfathomable loss of a loved one from gun violence. I provided testimony to urge approval of the Fund by Toledo City Council, which was scheduled to vote on it at their June 5 City Council meeting. I’ll let you know on Sunday if it was approved!

This Sunday, we will raise up the voices of the bruised and broken, strong and resilient survivors that are leading the movement to prevent gun violence. Parishioner and survivor Gwen La Croix will share her personal story, and I will preach. We will focus on secure gun storage, which saves kids’ lives. Free gun locks and a free gun lock box will be available for anyone who wants them. Here are many resources to explore for more information on how to reduce gun violence–organizations, safe gun storage, gun sense legislation, books and more. Please email me if you’d like to receive email updates from the Multifaith Coalition to Reduce Gun Violence. See you Sunday with your orange on!

Peace,
Deacon Meribah