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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
©1999 - 2010
Trinity Church of
Waltham
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