Trinity has received a grant to enable Pastor Tracey to participate in the 2018 National Clergy Renewal Program.  This is a competitive program and is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and administered by Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. The program allows congregations to support their pastors with the gift of extended time away from their ministerial duties and responsibilities. Throughout last winter and into spring, Trinity’s Governing Board and Pastor Tracey worked together to develop her grant application.  The program is designed to provide pastors with extended Sabbath time away from ministerial duties and responsibilities to engage in reflection and renewal.  The program allows congregations and clergy to collaborate in developing experiences that address their unique needs and goals.  $15,000 of the grant is allocated toward Trinity for pastoral coverage and renewal activities for our congregation during Pastor Tracey’s sabbatical time.  Tracey’s proposal was developed around Trinity’s Vision Statement: “Growing in love and service through relationships with God and community” and will include activities and experiences such as time spent in religious communities (monasteries, etc.) and travel with family.  It will take place April 25 – July 25, 2019.

Pastor Tracey has been selected to participate in a two and a half year program for women clergy, partially funded by Lilly Endowment.  The program consists of five 10-day retreats to support and equip participants to navigate and address the challenges of ministry.  One retreat occurs each fall and spring through November, 2020.  This program helps “women pastors establish a rhythm of prayer, engage in spiritual disciplines,” and build into their daily life a time of rest and worship. It provides personal and professional tools to assist women in ministry and develops peer and mentoring relationships.  There are 20 participants representing 9 denominations and 14 states. The first retreat at Benedict Inn in Beech Grove will take place November 5-14, 2018.

Congratulations Pastor Tracey!

Over the past several months, Trinity has been renovating the parlor behind the sanctuary and redesigning this space to become more versatile, welcoming and “user friendly.”  The dark, narrow hallway between the parlor and sanctuary has been transformed into storage space.  This will allow the renovated parlor area to be more versatile and will also keep our sanctuary space more neat and tidy.  No Operating Budget or Building Endowment Funds were expended for this renovation.  It was funded, primarily, with excess money from the sale of the Education Building, along with some designated member giving.

In the old parlor space:

• lighting has been upgraded to brighten the room and allow versatility through rope lights under the balcony and spots on the display wall
• The old folding screen has been replaced with a display wall which can be used to display Trinity Archives items or be used by outside groups to display artwork, etc.
• Walls have been painted.  Old lead paint was stripped from the wainscot and stained to match the beautiful balcony wood.
• New flooring has been laid – a combination of wood and carpet to help define areas of the room
• New furniture has been purchased
• A screen and new audio and video system (including new speakers) have been installed 

Finally, the room has received a new name.  It has become The GREAT Room.  GREAT is an acronym to represent all that will take place in this newly renovated space.  It will be space for our congregation and community to:

• Gather
• Relate
• Engage
• Accept and
• Teach

The GREAT Room will be the space to host our new outreach, Trinity Fusion, which takes place each third Monday of the month at 6 p.m.  Go to www.trinitylafayette.org/fusion for more info on Fusion.  Come out and join us for Fusion and bring a friend! On Sunday morning, October 14, we will dedicate this new space during morning worship at 10:30 a.m.  in the GREAT Room.  Our worship format, time, etc. will be no different than usual, but we will meet in the newly renovated space.

We also hope our GREAT Room will be good space for our community.  Toward that goal, on Sunday afternoon, October 28, at 4:00 p.m., we will host a “Movie Night” for our church and neighborhood in the GREAT Room.  If you would like to assist with this outreach event (room setup, snacks, passing out invites to our neighbors, etc.), please contact the church office.

Finally, to be good stewards of our limited resources, Trinity did not use a construction company for this project.  We secured individual bids for work that required professional expertise and utilized volunteers for non-professional tasks.  Please express your thanks to Kristi Evans, Trustee chrp., and Bob Lilly, Maintenance Team Volunteer Coordinator, for all the work they did to make this renovation project a success.

For over a year now, people in Trinity have poured their time and energy, hope and prayers into the dream of Fusion. On Monday, September 17, Fusion became a reality. 44 people gathered in the newly christened GREAT room, and shared thoughts and fears, triumphs and hopes all through the lens of personal stories. On our theme of the intersection of the body and the soul, Pastor Tracey spoke about Elijah being refreshed by God on the mountaintop after weathering ordeal after trying ordeal. (The full story can be found in I Kings 19.) Highlighting that awareness of one’s own body, but also of the wisdom of the experiences of others, and the attention to the divine are necessary to balance a person’s spirit.
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Jerri Painter from Pink Lotus Yoga was our first guest speaker and breakout session leader. We couldn’t have asked for a better inaugural guest. Jerri shared her experiences through the worlds of  recovery, faith, and yoga. A full video of Tracey’s homily, as well as Jerri’s presentation is available for viewing on Trinity Fusion’s Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/TrinityFusion) .

As we progress into the next three gatherings which will round out this year, we are excited to expand this program. Our next gathering will be October 15th: Faith and the Sexual Identity. We will explore the impact of human sexual identity on the development and maintenance of faith. We would love to see you there. Save the date for our November 19th gathering on The Spirit of the Nation.

Come check out Fusion every third Monday at 6 pm! 

How Table Talk Shapes Our Hospitality and Generosity

In the book A Meal with Jesus, author Tim Chester points out the abundance of meals in the gospel of Luke.  Luke writes, “the Son of Man [Jesus] came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).  That’s a clear mission statement.  But any mission needs an effective strategy or method of implementation.  So, Chester points out, Luke also tells us, “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking…” (Luke 7:34).  How did Jesus carry out his mission of seeking and saving the lost?  What was his strategy or methodology? Meals.  Jesus chooses to make the rich grace of God real and tangible as he breaks bread with friends and with those whom religion had marginalized and alienated.  “Food isn’t just fuel… It’s gift, generosity, grace… a central ingredient in our experience of God’s goodness.”i