Steeplecock News Excerpts

February 2010

Archived Steeplecock News

WARRANT
To the voting members of
Trinity Church Waltham, Massachusetts:
According to Article VII of the By-laws, and
By vote of the Standing Committee., you are
Hereby notified that the 189th Annual Meeting of the
Church will be held on Sunday, February 14, 2010
At 12 Noon, for the purpose of acting on:

1. Approval of the Annual Reports presented by Officers and Committee
Chairpersons for the year ended December 31, 2009.
2. The election of Officers and Committees for the year 2010.
3. Budgetary appropriations for the ensuing year.
4. Establishing goals for the year 2010.
5. Such other business as may be authorized by the By-laws.
Trinity Church

Joan D. Poirier, Clerk
January 24, 2010

Haiti Earthquake Relief
All of us are aware by now of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti a few weeks ago. Over 100,000 people have died and over a million homeless. Trinity Church took up a collection and has sent $1,000 to Samaritan's Purse in their relief effort. As you may recall, Samaritan's Purse is the Christian organization, founded by Franklin Graham that sponsors the shoebox ministry, Operation Christmas Child. Samaritan's Purse was already in mission with the Haitian people before the earthquake hit. If anyone is interested in giving to this worthwhile cause, you can send it into the church, marked "Haitian Relief and we will send it on to Samaritan's Purse. Or you can send it directly to:

Samaritan's Purse
PO Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607

Priscilla Thayer has also brought clothes and bedding, left over from the Rummage/Yard sale, to the Haitian church on Main Street. They were very appreciative.

Seminary Update
I regret to inform all of you that I have left the seminary. I did not pass my first semester of Greek and I am viewing this as a sign that this is not what God wants me to do. Language is a requirement at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for the Masters of Divinity program. Besides Greek, I would need to learn Hebrew too. The first semester was very challenging and stressful, but it did bring me closer to God and perhaps, that was His intension. I will continue to pray for God's guidance and that He will reveal His plan for me. I will continue my studies on my own without the deadlines, memorizations and exams. I want to thank Pastor Howard for his unending support and encouragement. I will continue my ministry at Trinity Church: assisting Pastor Howard and ministering to you wherever I can.
Rev. Deacon Allen Batchelder

Thank you for your kind gift! We're so grateful.
In appreciation for money that was sent to the Salvation Army from Trinity Church, a heartfelt note was sent to Trinity Church. The Salvation Army is always there for those that need help by providing food, shelter and clothing to the unfortunate ones.

As is stated in their letter, "thank you for bringing help and hope to families in our community. May God bless you for opening your heart to your neighbors in need. "

Trinity Church's Missionary Sujpjport
Paul and Barbara Thomas

One Story

I (Paul) have been experimenting with a version of the Nativity story, such as how it would be crafted for a Pagan audience. I title it "The Once and Future Shepherd King", and it is really a combination of two stories where the second one, the Christmas story from Luke 2, depends for its context on the first, David as the shepherd king. I tested it with friends in Loomis, Washington, in November. You can listen to my work thus far at http://www.mediafire.com/?0n21mqztxgd. Yes it is still a work in progress. Comments and suggestions Some might are welcome.

Some might ask about how quality and fidelity to scripture is maintained in Bible story crafting. Fidelity is maintained through a process known as "anchoring". That is, each phrase in the story is transcribed, and its scriptural or commentary reference is noted. Quality is achieved through two kinds pf testing. First the story is repeated several times from a recording, and then the hearer is asked to repeat as much as he or she can of the story. Comparison is then made to see if there are any misunderstandings, and if the story itself is graphic enough and short enough to be easily learned. Second, the story is repeated again, and comprehension questions are asked. Ideally, this is done with two different people, ideally people who didn't know the story before it was told. (Yes, this is hard to do for the Christmas story.)

Tanzania Next?

I (Paul) have been working to become a consultant with One Story, a program that facilitates the oral transmission of connected Bible stories. I am excited that I have been invited to lead, under a mentor, a workshop south of Dar es Salaam, in March. This is provided that funding comes together, as looks probable. This means lots of preparation in the coming weeks, including crafting and testing some Bible stories in English, and preparing presentations, about 4 hours per day. I won't do all the sessions; my mentor will do some.

Lunch with JI Packer

Yes, Barbara and I really did have lunch with JI Packer, though I was one of about 50 on Friday, and 200 on Saturday. For those who are wondering, "Who is JI Packer?" he wrote the book, Knowing God among many others. Knowing God would probably be the next step upward in understanding Christianity after reading CS Lewis's Mere Christianity. The book is dense, but shorter than the average systematic theology, and so it is accessible to lay people who don't mind a difficult read. I also note that he is an executive editor of Christianity Today.

The main point of both days is that he's come to recognize his role as an academically inclined evangelical Anglican priest: he regards himself as doing adult "catechesis11. That is, he believes that Christian growth should never stop, and that Christian leaders, whether clergy or lay, should be engaged in educating adults about who God is. Especially in his role as a professor at Regent College, he sees adult catechesis as having been his central role in the latter half of his life.

Knowing God is a difficult read. I've started it several times myself without finishing. A pastor's wife recently gave me an excellent hint about how to read it, and that is to understand that the chapters can stand alone. Therefore, it is possible to use it as a reference book or handbook. I tried this with chapter 16, "Goodness and Severity". The chapter was short, easily read and digested in 15 minutes, and then my curiosity got the better of me, and I continued into chapter 17, "The Jealous God," and I will now probably backtrack into chapter 15, "The Wrath of God". And so on. Perhaps I will actually get through it before Easter, which is my goal.

Thanks for your prayers and support.
Paul and Barbara

Good clothes available:
Rene Bailey would like to find a good home for Bill's suits and shirts. Suit size - 42 short; Shirt size - 17/33. Most of the shirts are French cuffs. Please call the church office if you, or anyone you know, can use these very fine suits and shirts.

There are many individuals from the congregation that we're sure would appreciate a card from you just to cheer them up.
Why don't you help make their day brighter and send them a card?

Frank Honey
Cambridge Homes Apt. 103
360 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Alma Pontz
Leland Home
21 Newton Street
Waltham, MA 02453-6004

Raymond VanderWyk
Cape Heritage Nursing Home
37 Route 6A
Sandwich, MA 02563-1801

Paula and Roy Porter
23 Birchwood Avenue
Sudbury, MA 01776-1552

Shirley Sabetti
39 William Casey
Spencer, MA 01562

Marilyn Larkin
372 Berlin Road
Marlborough, MA 01752

Keep these folks in your prayers and send them a card just to let them know you are thinking of them in their difficult times.

Office Administrator Segment
Thought for the Month:
"What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity?
Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and aevery difficulty has an opportunity."
J. Sidlow, Australian theologian

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Trinity Church
of Waltham