Dear Trinity Friend:
                
In this season of COVID-19, we want everyone to stay safe.  The decision has been made to suspend worship through Palm Sunday, April 5.  We will communicate in early April regarding Easter worship.  That will depend on where we are with this pandemic, CDC recommendations and government restrictions.  In addition, beginning March 23, the church office will be closed.  Staff will continue to check mail, print checks, etc. but will otherwise work remotely.
Remember that…

• You may still “receive” the Sunday sermons (text or audio) through the church website.  Simply click on the link to read or listen. We’re also working on You Tube and, once we’ve got that set up, another email will go out to let you know.  
• Please continue to view your weekly E-blast to “stay in touch” with your church family
• If you self-quarantine and do not have a friend or family member checking in with you daily, please notify the office.  A Trinity member will be happy to phone you regularly to make sure you are safe and well.  We will also gladly arrange someone to pick up weekly groceries or run errands for you if this is needed.
• If you are a regular church contributor, please keep in mind that Trinity’s monthly expenses will go on as usual.  Please continue your contributions through the mail or online by going to the church website www.trinitylafayette.org and clicking the upper right-hand button “Give”  This is a secure way to contribute.

Since care facilities are no longer accepting visitors, the pastors will stay in touch with our members in these facilities through calls and notes.  If you know a nursing home resident, please phone them or send a card.  They will likely feel very isolated during this time.  Clergy are still permitted to enter a care facility if it is an “end of life” situation.  Hopefully that won’t happen in the next few weeks.  I will also continue hospital calls and am happy to pray by phone or Zoom with individuals prior to a surgical procedure.  Please keep the office and clergy informed regarding your pastoral needs during this time.  Our voice over system allows us to receive email and office voice mails remotely so there will not be a gap in responding to any urgent needs.

Finally, as already mentioned, if you are aware of a church member who is homebound or self-quarantining, and who does not have someone checking in with them regularly, please take it upon yourself to contact them every couple of days or contact the church office.  

Did you know that hospitality is considered a spiritual practice?  Spiritual practices are those things we do to open ourselves to God’s grace and the transforming work of God’s Holy Spirit.  So what makes hospitality an experience of God’s grace?  In Genesis, chapter 18, the patriarch Abraham entertains three travelers.  He invites them to stop and rest under a tree in a cool and safe location.  He brings them water to wash.  And he and Sarah, his wife, prepare a meal for the travelers.  But, these are no ordinary travelers.  They are referred to as men, but also as Lord.  So the story teaches us, as Hebrews 13:2 clearly states, that we encounter the divine through strangers and guests.  The word “hospitality” means “the love of strangers.”  Each time I am on retreat at Benedict Inn, I am amazed at the extravagant generosity and graciousness shown by the nuns.  As members of the Order of Saint Benedict, they follow his teaching that guests are to be received like Christ and, in fact, we welcome the presence of God in each person and circumstance.

One of the most important expressions of hospitality at Trinity is through the ministry of our Sunday morning greeters.  Many of us have had the experience of visiting a church where we are either ignored or embarrassed.  Neither feels good.  True hospitality welcomes people while also providing them with space.  True hospitality creates a safe, open and generous space that communicates welcome and respect.  It means being fully present and attentive to another person.  That is a rare gift and blessing in today’s fast-paced electronic culture.

Right now at Trinity, we are in great need of greeters.  Please pray about this.  Research shows that most people decide within the first several minutes of entering a church whether or not they will come back.  So greeting is a very important ministry. 

If you would consider being a Greeter, please let Pastor Tracey know. 

When we welcome others, we serve as ambassadors for Jesus.  And when we are attentive to our guests, we often experience God’s blessing through them.  I hope you will consider this ministry need and opportunity.