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We have good news to share! The board has approved an outdoor service at Trinity and the date has been set for August 23rd at 10:45am! more news and guidelines to follow and know that the COVID-19 reopening committee has been working hard to keep everyone safe as we gather. We’ll share all the information as widely as possible and encourage you to do the same.
In preparation for the outdoor service and because our building has been essentially closed since March, we are holding our “spring clean-up” in August this year. Saturday August 15th at 9am, we need your help to spruce up our building. Again, more details will be shared in the next little while and we hope people will come by with their gloves, masks, aprons, pails, rakes and enthusiasm along with your best social distancing techniques to help us get Trinity ready for reopening.
A few people have asked about the book, “Open the Door: A journey to the true self” by Joyce Rupp so today I’m adding a picture of the cover.
This chapter begins with a poem by Dorothy Walters titled “Why”,
“Something inside me
constantly bleeds towards god.
That’s why I keep writing,
slipping messages under the door.”
I loved the phrase, “slipping messages under the door” and it made me ask the question (even before I read it), “If we could slip a message to God under the door today, what would it be? What message might God slip under our door?” Reading the poem again and again, I wondered, what is that ‘something’ inside us that constantly bleeds towards god? So many people have tried to describe this ‘something’ yet it seems, often, that no words adequately describe this center of our being, that place that draws us to God, the Holy One, the divine presence that speaks and seeks us. It is this ‘something’ that keep us slipping messages under the door to God, even when our sense of God seems remote; even when we have no words to write. It is this ‘something’ that compels us to reach down and pick up the message God has slipped under our door. This is what our faith is about.
What message have you slipped under the door for God? What message has God slipped under your door?
Scripture for the day: For God alone my soul waits in silence (Psalm 62:1)
Prayer for the week: Eternal presence, you are as intertwined with me as blood is to my beating heart. When I do not feel your nearness, deepen by confidence in your love. Restore any part of my wounded self that hesitates to communicate with you. I open the door of my heart to you. I open the door. Amen.
Mary writes and sends this picture of her quilt:
I completed this wall-hanging about 2 weeks ago. I don’t know the origin of the panel with these “Country Sayings” on it, but I looked at it for a long time before I decided what to do with it. I am pleased with the “wonky” setting of the different blocks–it certainly makes the whole thing a bit more interesting.
May you find moments this week that give you the opportunity to reflect on your faith, your sense of God, and the times when you have found “slipping messages under the door” part of your journey of faith.
In this moment, know that we at Trinity care about you and your lives. Know that we pray for you, we want you to be safe and healthy and to know God’s presence in your lives. If there is something you need us to know, please call me at home (204 275 0014) or the office (204 269 1632) or email ( eliz.tuc@mymts.net ). In this time when the church building is closed and worship is online, it is more important than ever to connect with your friends you normally would see each Sunday. Please consider calling them, emailing or mailing a card with a note telling them how much you care for them. We continue to share God’s love in every moment of our lives.
Elizabeth
Trinity United Church 