Trinity Church Record

July 2018 Volume 7, Issue 7

General Convention July 2018

I will be attending the General Convention of our Church for the first half of July. I thought you might enjoy knowing a bit about it. Here’s information I gleaned from several differ- ent sources to give you some idea of what will happen: The General Convention is the governing body of The Episcopal Church. It is a bicameral legislature that includes the House of Deputies, with more than 800 members (up to four clergy and four lay persons from each diocese), and the House of Bishops, with over 300 active and resigned bishops. General Convention gathers every three years. The 2018 meeting will convene in Austin, Texas for a nine- day legislative session (July 5 -July 13, 2018), and will be the 79th General Convention of the Church. (Most of us will be going early to get ourselves ready. Convention days often go from 6:30am until after dinner at night—as long as 10:00pm. Sometimes delegates and bishops can work even later on specific legislation and/or resolution to an issue of great importance. ~ WRC add) The work of General Convention includes adopting legislation of concern to the Church; amending the Book of Common Prayer, the Constitution, and the Canons of the Church; adopting a triennial budget for The Episcopal Church; and electing candidates to offices, boards and other committees. This work is undertaken in support of the mission and ministry of the Church, and with prayerful gratitude and spiritual discern- ment. (from the Episcopal Church website) While bishops, clergy, and laity in various combinations and configurations participate in church governance around the Anglican Communion, the governance of The Episcopal Church — and particularly the General Convention — is unique in origin. The first General Convention, held in Philadelphia in 1785, was a response to that moment in history. When the 13 American colonies became independent from England, the now former Church of England in those colonies was confronted with a singular challenge of identity: how to be an independent church distinct from the governmentally established church of its roots, and yet carry forward a spiritual heritage that became distinctively known as “Anglican.” As the only model for governance in church or state at the time tended to be monarchical, the infant Episcopal Church turned to the civic order of the new nation to model its gov- ernance. In fact, one-third or more of the men writing the U.S. Constitution helped create the Constitution of The Episcopal Church. That constitution provides for a bi-cameral legis- lature that meets every three years. Each house has a presiding officer: the Presiding Bishop in the House of Bishops, the Presi- dent in the House of Deputies. Both are elected positions, and both officers serve primari- ly to preside over the business of their respective house. The Presiding Bishop later was invested with additional responsibilities, including heading the missionary arm of the church and acting as “Primate” or lead bishop to represent The Episcopal Church in the world-wide Anglican Communion. Today, the presiding bishop, Michael B. Curry, and the president of the House of Deputies, currently The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, coordinate the leadership of General Convention through their offices. 1

Legislation (resolutions) can come from CCABs (commissions, committees, agencies and boards) within the church, bishops, deputies, or dioceses. (from the Diocese of CA website) The Convention is a delightful mix of family and/or class reunion; end of legislative session; and state fair. People scurry to draft legislation, often with hugs going all around, and food in the other hand. Meanwhile, there are books to behold, Anglicans from around the world to learn from and pray with, and advocates with whom to align. Each year the Convention tackles specific issues. Some are driven from without the Church (this year it’s likely to include responses to immigration), and some are from within the Church (training for, ac- tion around, and worship focused on evangelism and revival; pay for the president of the House of Deputies; and care of creation). And some are central to the life of the Church. This year, the issue of Prayer Book revision, and “open communion” will be hot topics. The status of the Prayer Book is always on our minds, and there have been additional liturgies affirmed over the last 20+ years. (We were using some of the first ones when I was in seminary in the early 1990s—including ones we have been using in our worship here at St. Matthew’s and Trinity.) The question about nine years ago was whether we would ever have a ‘bound’ version of the BCP again, or simply retain a register of electronic resources and pull from that seasonally or for occasions. Yet, the urge to have a “book” is strong. Then we must consider what will be in and what will be out (like a Book of Occasional Services or alternate materials that will always stand outside the official liturgies and resources.) Among the most contentious issues there are the question of “open communion”— intentionally inviting non-baptized to the table; and the issue of inclusion of same-sex marriage rites. The same-sex marriage rites are in wide practice across the Episcopal Church, except in eight dioceses, including the Diocese of Albany immediately to our east. So, this issue seems to be a divide on con- servative-liberal lines. The issue of “open communion” however, seems to be a divide across the whole church. Few if any take the position that if anyone will refuse someone communion if they present themselves “at the rail”. The larger question is whether we should be intentionally and consistently inviting people to communion who we know are not baptized and perhaps have no intention of becoming baptized. As always, there have been numerous position papers written from many perspectives and I can share them with you at your request. A big part of the focus of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s tenure will be evangelism. He is clear about our need to tell others about the Episcopal ethos, and our “branch of the Jesus Movement.” Thus, the main worship of the convention will be a revival service on Saturday night of convention, and there will be adjacent times when people can be ‘trained’ in how to be a better evangelist. Sitting alongside all this joy and fanfare is the Episcopal Church response to the me2 movement. Ac- cording to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives. (https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics.) Combine this with the high rate of sexual violence, and you have a tremendous number of people affected both in the leadership and in the pews of our churches. Our Bishop DeDe is leading a service of reconciliation on July 4th as part of the Convention activities. I ask that you keep her and us all in your prayers. As always, it is an exciting time to be an Episcopalian. I could recount much more, but I invite you to go to the Episcopal Church’s General Convention website, Episcopal Café, and Episcopal News Service websites for the latest news. I’ll see you back on July 15th. Blessings on your holiday and summer Wanda+

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Vestry Report-July 2018

The Vestry of Trinity Church met on June 2nd to discuss concerns over our potential merger with St. Matthew’s Church. Having come from a meeting at the end of May with Canon Carrie Schofield-Broadbent, who left us with the words that “the Holy Spirit will work through us and guide us as we go forward in our merging process,” many of us began to take a closer look at the merger and how that might look for the future presence of Trinity Church in Downtown Elmira. Many of us were struck by the stark reality of closing the doors of Trinity Church and the effect this might have on the City of Elmira as well as the people we serve in a downtown community with great needs. We also reflected on the impact on our endowment should we choose to merge or dissolve our parish. If we merged, we would have two campuses to care for, and both parishes would be allowed to keep their financial assets. If we dissolved, our joint parishes would have only one campus to care for, but the parish that dissolved would lose all of their financial assets along with the buildings. Because it was too difficult to imagine a Downtown Elmira with- out Trinity Church, the Vestry concluded that this was not a risk we were ready to take. We felt the Holy Spirit was indeed guiding us as we reflected on the future of our presence in the city and those we currently serve, and all people in need that we hope to serve in the future. It was in that reflection that we felt we needed to put a halt to the merger process. The next half of the con- versation focused on how rejuvenated we were feeling and how we hoped to go forward main- taining the momentum and renewed commitment we were all experiencing. We will be looking at multiple ways to reach out to the city as we go forward and are hoping to strengthen and re- new our parish family as well. Because this meeting took place one week before the Bishop’s visit and the start of our planned joint worship at St. Matthew’s for the summer, word of this decision needed to be communicated quickly. The Vestry did all in its power to make that happen as soon as possible in hopes that all would immediately be within the loop of communication. Lisa Kelly agreed to draft a letter, which hopefully you received and read within days after this decision. United Baptist Church has been informed of our decision and we look forward to a continued long-term relationship with them as we share space together. The Vestry met again on June 13th and was joined by our guest John Ward. All agreed the worship Next Vestry service with the Bishop at St. Matthew’s on June 10th was lovely and well attended. We noted Meeting that Bill Lewis passed away and a joint committal service was held for both him and his wife Car- July 17 rie at Woodlawn. We also noted that Recognition Sunday was nicely done and that we all appre- 5:00 pm ciated the new and more inclusive format that Wanda implemented. At Trinity We are still waiting to hear back from our 2016 CPA Audit, which was required following Fr. Bill Lutz’s departure. We will then proceed with our 2017 audit, due in September. Treasurer Dori Riggs will follow up on that. In early June a gas leak was detected in the church basement. NYSEG was called and it was dis- covered that 3 couplings had slight leaks. Our gas was shut off until Chemung Heating completed the repairs, and all is running smoothly. Lisa Kelly presented a plan for our re-focus/re-birth of Trinity Church [as we go forward.] We will be looking to all our parishioners to share their thoughts and ideas on how we can better serve them as well as the community of Elmira. More news will follow as it continues to develop. We were asked to help with a Summer Lunch for Kids program at a local park in Elmira. We will be serve lunches and act as chaperones. If you are able to help in this mission, please leave a message for Judy in the church office at 732-3241.

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In the Fall of 2018 we plan to begin a “Breakfast Club” once a month on Saturday mornings, serving a free breakfast to the community during the hours our Thrift Shop is open. If you are interested in helping out or hearing more about it, please leave a message for the wardens in the church office. We recently discovered that our brick Steeple will need some additional repair work. David Anderson from Johnson Schmidt met with Judy Sheasley and Tom Padgett to investigate the problem. We will again be considering grant funding to help cover the expense, should we go forward with the repairs. The wardens met with a representative from Egan Stained Glass Restoration and Willet Hauser for an estimate on our Tiffany window, as well as a window in the bell tower that is broken. We may need to consider a grant for that too, and perhaps are able to incorporate that into the Steeple grant as well. Dates to remember: Sun. July 8 Pastor Wanda at General Convention Holy Eucharist, Rev. Geraldine Bisell-Thompson Tues. July 17 5 p.m. Vestry/Finance/B&G Meeting Mon. July 30 Wanda will have knee surgery Sun. Aug. 5 9 a.m. Supply (TBD) Sun. Aug. 12 9 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rev. Linda Leibhart Sun. Aug. 19 9 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rev. Linda Leibhart Sun. Sept. 16 10 a.m. The Rt. Rev. Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe Visitation at Trinity Church Faithfully submitted, Susan Nagle Judith Sheasley Wardens of Trinity Church

“Host a Vigil/Open Your Doors” Trinity Answers the Call

On Thursday, June 21, Trinity responded to Bishop DeDe’s invitation to open our doors for Prayer for Family Unity. This was scheduled to coincide with The Episcopal Church Office of Government Rela- tions all-day Vigil for Family Unity, held that day from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. in Washington, DC. A huge thank you to Tom Padgett, Jackie Draht, Lisa and John Kelly, Susan Nagle and Judy Sheasley for hosting in the church. They are greatly appreciated for taking the time from their busy lives. All agreed that it was time well-spent. Trinity was open from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.! There was a slow trickle of visitors who entered, if not for prayer, then to get a closer look at the interior of our sanctuary. The sign out front and the doors being wide open alone demonstrated our renewed commitment to being a spiritual presence in our city. (Photo by Lisa Kelly)

4 The Altar Guild

The July Altar Guild schedule is as follows:

July 1-Judy Sheasley July 15- Nancy Isaacs

July 8- Jackie Draht July 22– Judy Sheasley

Fellowship/Hospitality Report

Recognition It is hard to believe that the beginning of summer is official! June ended with a wonderful Recognition Sunday Wreath Sunday. It was heart warming how full our floral wreath was! It was a true representation of all that we do to serve Trinity, it’s members and our community! In the fall we anticipate starting a free breakfast on Saturdays once or twice a month. Though the details are a work in process at this time we would love to have you help with this initiative. The “breakfast club” will have an early morning start with a short serving time. A good way to start the day without a doubt! Presently, we are working on next year’s fellowship calendar. It promises to be a busy year. We wel- come your ideas for an event! Finally, thank you to Mike Buchholz for being the grill master at the Trinity/St. Matthews 2nd annual picnic! Also thanks to Tari for coordinating the event for us!

Submitted by Lisa Kelly

Second Place East, Inc.

Second Place East, Inc. is still counting on the individual churches that are involved with its pro- gram to donate selected goods in the coming months. July’s selected goods is dish detergent. These goods can be of any brand name, type and size will be acceptable and can be purchased at any Family Dollar, Dollar General, Big Lots, Dollar Tree, or area grocery stores. Please put the des- ignated goods in the basket near the Chapel doors. Second Place East, Inc. thanks everyone for their help in this mission.

Trinity Participates in Elmira’s Summer Meals for Kids Program

At the close of the school year Catholic Charities began hosting USDA Summer Meals for Kids at Bland- ford Park in Elmira. In keeping with our renewed commitment to serving the needs of our Community, Trinity responded to Catholic Charities’ call for assistance by providing volunteers for five of the days. Lunches are served weekdays from 12 noon until 1 p.m. and are prepared and delivered to the park by the Elmira School District. Duties include welcoming the kids and any parents who come with them, putting tablecloths on the picnic tables, distributing lunches, taking the count, cleaning up, etc. Many thanks to Nancy Isaacs, Marion Leljedal, Lisa Kelly, and Judy Sheasley for giving their time to this

ministry. Everyone is most welcome to lend a hand on the upcoming dates of July 6, 24 and 27. The suggested arrival time is 11:15 a.m. This may be a wonderful way to nurture the seeds of service in your family.

If you would like to help or have questions, please contact Judy Sheasley at 733-7427.

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Trinity History Corner

Henry C. Dudley, Architect of Trinity Church

Henry C. Dudley (1813-1894) was an English-born resident of New York City. He was well- known for specializing in Gothic Revival church architecture and was famous for making stee- ples of the same material as that used for the buildings. Few such steeples remain in the world today and Trinity’s brick steeple is one of them. He with a founding member of the American Institute of Architects, established in 1857. Dudley partnered with Gothic Revival architect Frank Wills in the 1850s; however, no mention of Mr. Wills is found in Trinity’s historical rec- ords. Wills died in 1857. Most of Dudley’s work was done in the northeastern states. He did design St. John’s Episcopal Church in Wilmington, North Carolina, a city long familiar with architects from New York and other northern cities. St. John’s no longer exists.1 In New York State Dudley’s Episcopal churches which are in the vicinity of Elmira are St. Paul’s (formerly St. Paul’s Cathedral) Syracuse, Christ Hornell, St. Thomas Bath, St. Paul’s Oxford, St. Peter’s and John’s Auburn, and St. Paul’s Waterloo (The Rev. Henry Hubbard was Rector of St. Paul’s Waterloo immediately prior to coming to Trinity.) 1 Bishir, Catherine W., North Carolina Architects & Builders, A Biographical Dictionary, 2016

Bishop’s Visitation

Bishop DeDe Duncan Probe will be visiting us at Trinity on September 16, 2018. More details will follow as the date draws closer.

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MARY MAGDALENE CELEBRATION INNER PEACE LABYRINTH Trinity Church – Elmira, New York Sunday July 22nd - 2 pm A Spiritual Gathering Anointing & Candle light seated meditation Presentations: All invited to present ‘YOUR’ thoughts, prayers, story, poem, song or Your personal views to Honor and Celebrate Mary Magdalene

‘Mary Magdalene of the Labyrinth’ Followed by Dance of Oneness Enjoyment and Walk

We shall Balter (bol’ter) v,

To dance gracelessly, without particular art or skill, but perhaps with great enjoyment (Middle English) Time to bring out the maxi skirt, dress, shawl and enjoy some dance movement ~ Followed with Refreshments & Fellowship ~

Suggested Donation $5.00

Trinity Episcopal Church 304 North Main Street • Elmira, NY 14901 Enter from 1st Street Parking area to lower level labyrinth … www.Labyrinthsofchemungcounty.org

Meditation seating always available for those who choose Spiritual Quiet time and are not walking 7 Summer Solstice Interfaith Labyrinth Walk

Gloria O’Sullivan (far right) leading dancing on the Labyrinth

On the evening of June 21, (at the same time the church was open for prayer) a faithful group from various walks of life met on Trinity’s front lawn to walk the Labyrinth under the skies in celebration of the Summer Solstice, the longest day (and the shortest night) of the year and the first day of Summer. Walkers shared summer memories and reflections on what summer means to them. They were also encouraged to contemplate Summer while walking and afterwards to write down their hopes for this year’s season and/or their regrets of the past and place them in the nearby firepit, where they would turn to flame and ash.

The outdoor labyrinth will be visible on the lawn for a few weeks to come, where it is easily available to those who would like to walk it. It will not take much of your time and you may find it helpful.

Trinity and St. Matthew’s Church Picnic and Worship Service

Trinity and St. Matthew’s annual Church Picnic and Worship Service will be held on July 1, 2018 at Harris Hill. We have reserved pavilion #1. We have been told that this pavilion is on level ground and near the rest rooms, so there will be easy access for all.

Worship begins at 10:30 with a picnic to follow. Picnic meats and desserts provided. Bring a dish to pass with serving utensils, table service, beverages and chairs.

Parish Office Notice

The Parish Office will be closed on July 4th & 5th in observance of the Independence Day Holiday.

8 The Wounded Healers’ Bereavement Support Group, Inc.

Will meet at St. Mary our Mother School in Horseheads on Tuesday, July 10th from 7:30 until 9:00 pm. The Topic will be: Feeling Guilty After Having Made Difficult Medical Decisions

Buildings & Grounds Report

We have hired a new sexton, Mr. Paul Palmer, who started with us May 30, 2018. While his talents are slightly different than Tim’s, we look forward to his contributions to keeping our buildings and grounds maintained. He is recently retired from full time work and was looking for something to keep him busy, so we will provide that!

Our Spring Planting day was well done with a few volunteers. We are grateful to those who helped us get our grounds in good shape. – Sue Draht

Thrift Shop Report

If you come to the Wisner Market on Thursdays, don’t forget that the Thrift Shop is open at the same time. We’ve been doing very well on Thursdays, with a different clientele, which is great. Our devoted Thursday volunteers do a great job in staffing the shop for 4 hours and we are so grateful.

Our Saturdays continue to be steady and our work crews do a great job in keeping us staffed. We have received some new donations but are always looking for more. We espe- cially appreciate receiving residual rummage sale items (items that didn’t sell in a rum- mage sale), so keep us in mind for that. – Sue Draht

Schedule for July- 7/7 – Isaacs Team 7/21– Bacmanski Team 7/14– Sheasley Team 7/28– Brayer Team

Poor People’s Campaign

The Poor People’s Campaign is beginning “Teaching Tuesday’s” events at Trinity beginning July 10, 2018. Stay tuned for more information.

9 July Birthdays:

04: Kevin Nagle 21: Riley Van Deusen 05: Melody Chilson 23: Lee Ostrander 08: McKenzie Snyder 26: Joy Perry Gregory Barron Beatrice Riggs 15: Cody Carlson 29: Rev. John Humphries, Jr. 19: Harleigh Carlson 30: Carrie Zeigler 20: Luther Colwell

July Anniversaries:

01: Lisa & John Kelly 07: Suzanne & John Knighton Melissa & Josua Church 26: Marci & James Hilgendorf 15: Sharon & Jim Reynolds 27: Peggysue & Thomas Potter

EOP Clothing Closet

The EOP has reached out to local churches, seeking assistance in stocking a clothing closet for those individuals who are looking for employment but don’t have appropriate clothing to wear to an interview. They are also hoping to stock prom clothing for students who want to attend a prom but don’t have a dress or suit.

We will be putting a box in the rear of the church for those donations that you may have. We’re looking for men’s clothing in the form of suits, sport coats, dress pants and shirts. Women’s cloth- ing should be business-type that would be appropriate for an interview.

We are also going to donate some of our merchandise from the Thrift Shop that we have had for a while. Our normal clientele isn’t interested in men’s dress clothing, in particular, so this gives us a great opportunity to do good in another way with our donations. – Sue Draht

Christmas at Sea Knitting Donations

A box of knitted goods was recently sent to the Christmas At Sea project from Trinity. The box contained scarves, vests and caps which were knitted from volunteers at the CVAC agency.

We are always looking for people interested in knitting or buying yarn for the project. If you have extra yarn (worsted weight) that you’d like to donate, please contact me to arrange for pick up. All yarn is purchased for the project, so any donations toward the yarn is appreciated. If you would like to knit, we provide the yarn and the pattern for the project. Contact me for that too! – Sue Draht

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July 2018

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Church Picnic @ Office Open 1-5 Office Open 1-5 Office Closed Office Closed Office Thrift Shop Open Harris Hill 10:30 Closed 9-12

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Holy Eucharist 9 Office Open 1-5 Office open 1-5 Office Open 1-5 Office Open 1-5 Office Thrift Shop Open Closed 9-12 2nd Place East 11 Thrift Shop Open 10-2 Christian Counseling Community 11 - 8 Lunch @ St. Matthew’s 11-1

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Holy Eucharist 9 Office Open 1-5 Office Open 1-5 Office Open 1-5 Office Thrift Shop Open Office Open 1-5 Closed 9-12

Christian Counseling Thrift Shop 11-8 Open 10-2

Deadline for The Record

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Holy Eucharist 9 Office Open 1-5 Office Open 1-5 Office Open 1-5 Office Open 1-5 Office Thrift Shop Open Closed 9-12

Labyrinth 2 Thrift Shop Christian Counseling Open 10-2 11 - 8

Aktion Club 5-9

29 30 31

Holy Eucharist 9 Office Open 1-5 Office Open 1-5

11 Trinity Episcopal Church

304 North Main Street Elmira, NY 14901 Phone: 607-732-3241 Fax: 607-732-3894 E-mail: [email protected]

Trinity Church: Serving God and All People in Heart, Mind and Soul

www.trinitychurchelmira.org

Trinity Staff

Rector: The Reverend Wanda Copeland Email: [email protected]

Office Staff: Melissa Ransom Email: [email protected]

Organist: Sharon Reynolds

Wardens: Judith Sheasley and Susan Nagle

Vestry Members: Lisa Kelly, Sue Draht, Ben Buchholz

Treasurer: Dori Riggs

Clerk of the Vestry: Melissa Ransom

Sexton: Paul Palmer

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