Trinity Stories

Dear Friends,

I don’t like being inconvenienced. As you know, I live across the river from downtown. I specifically chose the Marina Lofts apartments because my commute to Trinity would be all of four minutes long. In the last parish, my commute was 35 miles long and a soul-crushing 45 minutes long in heavy traffic. A four-minute commute? Piece of cake. Only, they (whoever “they” are) have chosen this time to work on the Cherry Street bridge AND tear up N. Summit Street to boot. I have been inconvenienced. My commute time has now doubled – to 8 whole minutes. Okay, so it’s a little hard to complain about an 8-minute commute. However, I still don’t like being inconvenienced.

This week, parishioners and guests wanting to worship at Trinity on Sunday morning can expect to be inconvenienced for two reasons:

The first is that the Susan G. Komen Northwest Ohio Race for the Cure will be held this Sunday, September 29. Several streets will be closed as the race route completely surrounds Trinity that morning. Our primary goals are to hold our normal Sunday service at 10:00 am and to support the race and the safety of those involved. The second is that the owners of Four Seagate garage will be doing maintenance work that necessitates shutting down power to the garage. You will still be able to enter and exit the garage without any problem. However you may want to bring flashlight – or have the flashlight on your cell phone ready – to be able to find your way to and from your car.

• As for the Komen Race for the Cure, here are the instructions to make it easier for you to come to church:
  No matter what direction you are coming from, find your way to a point on Adams St. west of N. Michigan St. Once there, proceed east on Adams toward the church.
• Plan to be at Trinity no later than 9:30 am! (The race begins at 9:30, and we cannot promise that people driving to Trinity will be allowed access once the race has started.)
• You will encounter a police barricade at Adams and Erie. As long as you arrive at the barricade by 9:30 am, you will be allowed through.
• You will encounter another checkpoint at Adams and N. Huron (part of the racecourse). Again, as long as you are through the intersection by 9:30 am, you will be allowed through.
• Once you have crossed both Erie and Huron, you will be able to continue to drive east on Adams, make a left turn on N. St. Clair, and access either parking on N. St. Clair or the entrance to the Four Seagate Garage between Adams and Jackson.
• To help identify Trinity parishioners, we have created a pass that can be presented to police or race staff. If you want a copy of the pass to download, please email trinity@trinitytoledo.org
• Since morning activities at Trinity typically end by 11:30 am, we don’t think parishioners will have a problem leaving downtown after church.We’re grateful to Komen Northwest Ohio for graciously offering Trinity parishioners a way to serve the Community Breakfast for our neighbors and to attend the celebration of Holy Eucharist in our sanctuary.

More than being grateful to Komen Northwest Ohio for providing access to Trinity this Sunday, I am personally grateful to the Susan B. Komen organization for the work they’ve done supporting breast cancer research, patient support services, and advocacy.

You see, my wife, Terry, is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2001 at the age of 41. Having breast cancer is categorically not an inconvenience. For Terry and our family, it was a life-changing event. Terry underwent surgery, had chemotherapy treatments, and then radiation. The aggressive treatment approach worked; she’s remained cancer free ever since. She benefitted from the efforts of the Susan B. Komen organization and other similar organizations who all help the 1 out of every 8 women who will develop breast cancer sometime in their lives.

So, as I cross the Cherry Street bridge this Sunday and drive far enough west to reach a point on Adams Street where I can turn around and head east toward the church, I won’t complain about either the construction or the race. I hope you won’t complain either and that the information above will help you be less inconvenienced when you come to Trinity this Sunday. (Notice I said “when” not if!)

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I don’t know how many times that phrase has been repeated to children who have been on the receiving end of verbal bullying. I know my mother frequently recited it to me as a reminder that I couldn’t be hurt by unpleasant things that were said to me. A quick Google search yields the information that the saying was used as early as 1862. I’m guessing it was in circulation long before then.

Turns out, it’s not true. Words can and do hurt people. A bully doesn’t have to punch you in the nose to bruise you. Too many tragic stories of young people taking their own lives because of in-person or cyberbullying let us know that words can wound, sometimes fatally. Our spiritual ancestors knew this. Just this past Sunday, we heard the author of the Epistle of James say:

“How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. . . . With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.”

Here in Ohio, we’ve seen Springfield set on fire by hate-filled words and made-up stories about the community of Haitian migrants who have moved to the community for work. The spread of blatantly racist lies has resulted in bomb threats that have closed government offices and businesses and kept children home from school. Former President Trump amplified the falsehoods during the recent debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance refused to step back or apologize what had been said in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, both Republicans, have noted the impact of lying words. Mayor Rue said, “Any political leader who takes the national stage and has the national spotlight needs to understand the gravity of the words that they have for cities like ours, and what they say impacts our city.” And Governor DeWine sent Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers on Tuesday to protect the students of the Springfield City School District.

“Words will never hurt me” is not true. They have hurt, and they are hurting the people of Springfield – members of the Haitian community, to be sure, but, truthfully, all the residents.

One of my closest clergy friends was rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Springfield for over a decade, and her husband was a philosophy professor at Wittenberg. They have deep roots in the community and are distraught over what’s happened. If you are interested in helping, they recommend a contribution to the Haitian Community Help & Support Center. You can learn more about them and make a donation here.

You may also be interested in reading a blog post by the Bishop of Southern Ohio, the Rt. Rev. Kristin Uffelman White. The piece is called “Our Words Matter: Standing Up Against Hate in Springfield.” You can find the article at this link.

Words have power – power to bless and to curse. As followers of Jesus, let us use our words to bless.

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear friends,

It is finally here! Trinity Kid’s, our 1st – 5th grade ministry launches this Sunday during service. We are so excited; we can hardly contain ourselves. Here is a little run down on how this will work starting September 15:

1. Families arrive at Trinity and sit in the sanctuary waiting for service to begin.

2. Around 10:05 after the first hymn, Father Applegate will announce that kids may be released by parents to the Trinity Kid’s volunteer teachers. They will be in the sanctuary holding a sign for kids to follow. They will then be walked upstairs to the TK Clubhouse (formerly known as the Grace Room or upstairs Rector office).

3. While upstairs, the kids will have a Bible story, some games, and an activity.

4. During the passing of the peace, the teachers will walk the kids down and be released back to their parents for the remainder of the service.

This would not be happening if it wasn’t for our incredible volunteers who will be spending one Sunday every seven weeks teaching. We will also be commissioning them this Sunday, so if you see them give them a high five!

Registration forms went out this week for parents interested in having their kids be a part of our program, and more will be available this week. If you have them ready to turn in, please hand them to myself, or Heather Meyer, our Director of Operations.

We are looking forward to this Sunday’s launch!

Grace and peace,

George Benson, Director of Community Engagement

Dear Friends,

National Hispanic Heritage Month begins one week from this Sunday. The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. To get an early start, Trinity will look south of the border for inspiration this Sunday, September 8, as we celebrate Welcome Back! Sunday.

We’ll feature a terrific mariachi band from Detroit, Mariachi Mexico 2020. The band will play during the 10:00 am service and will provide entertainment in My Brother’s Place at the fiesta that will follow the service. We’ll have a walking taco bar, a multigenerational art project, and activities for kids. The forecast is for partly cloudy skies with a high temperature of 71 – perfect for enjoying our elevated Plaza.

Trinity’s talented choir will be back as well leading our music and bringing their infectious joy to our worship together.

I hope you’ll join us as we start a new church program year. We’ll share information about the church school program for children in grades 1-5 and preview this fall’s adult formation offering. Remember, too, that you are welcome at our free Community Breakfast starting at 8:45 am on the second floor of the parish house.

Church attendance was up this summer, so we added chairs this past week to ensure that everyone has a spot. And if you’ve been thinking about inviting a friend or neighbor to join you for worship, Welcome Back! Sunday would be the perfect time to say, “Come and see!”

Hasta el domingo! (See you on Sunday!)

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate