And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.  
                                                                                                                                                        [Acts 2.2-4]

As some of you may know, we have a home in Boulder, Colorado where we used to spend every summer.  Pearl Street, the main road in downtown Boulder, is a pedestrian walkway, lined with stores and restaurants, and with children’s play areas scattered in the center of the mile-long stretch. It is a great spot for street entertainers, and one of the most popular was a juggler and acrobat who was also a fire-eater.  At the end of his act, he would light five torches, and after a few juggling tricks he would slowly take each torch to his mouth and swallow its fire.
 
I think this what we are called to be on Pentecost:   Fire swallowers.
We are not called merely to stand quietly while small flames flicker above our heads.
It is not enough merely to listen in confusion that becomes awe as disparate voices blend in an unlikely harmony.  On the contrary, we are called to swallow those flames, to open our bodies and our hearts and our minds to receive the burning and purifying fire of God so that we shine God’s light—dazzling and clarifying, awakening joy and wonder wherever we go.
 
This is especially important at this time, when the violent wind feels more like loss and earthshaking change than inspiration. All of us know someone who has died in the past two months.  Over 100,000 people have died from the coronavirus.  Over 30% of our population face unemployment.  Our children are restless, with nowhere to go.  Our young people face collapsing guideposts rather than the open roads that we promised would reward their hard work. We long for the touch, the hug, the shared meal that once brought the assurance of friendship.  Only fire swallowers can bring to light the Spirit-filled bonds that will be our compass, as they have always been.
 
The fire of the Holy Spirit is not a fanciful image from long ago. It is here, now, shining within us and all around us: a refining fire for those who are complacent, a hearth fire  for those who are lonely, a beacon for those who are lost.  We can trust that we will be understood by people we ourselves might not understand. We need not fear that we will make mistakes or cause injury by our stumbling. The promise of Pentecost is the promise that, having swallowed the Fire of the Holy Spirit, we will bring peace into a future that is at this moment unimaginable.  We are the Body of Christ. We are the Breath of God. We are the Flames of God. Earthbound . . . and with wings. 

Diocese-wide Virtual Pentecost Celebration:   May 31st 10 am
There will be no Sunday service at Trinity or meditation for this weekend.  The Diocesan service will be our shared worship this week.  Our own Peach Warren and Wayne & Beth Stochaj are participating in the virtual choir.   The access information can be found here.

Sunday School this week: 10 am on Sunday via zoom.
Contact Rachel Carpenter for the access information.  rcarp76@gmail.com.
 
​Responding to the coronavirus pandemic at Trinity
Almighty God, you proclaim your truth in every age by many voices:
Direct, in our time, we pray, those who speak where many listen and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the heart of this people wise, its mind sound, and its will righteous; to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Zoom Sunday worship at Trinity begins at 9 am on Sunday June 7th. We will have Morning Prayer  followed by a virtual coffee hour.  On June 7th we will recognize and honor the Sunday School students and Rachel Carpenter for the fabulous job she has done this year. We will send access information next week.

In-person worship is suspended at least through July 1st.  This does not mean that we will begin in-person worship in July:  There are many factors to be considered in order to make our sanctuary and our building safe for meetings and worship. We ask that you complete a survey that will be sent out this week so that your Vestry will know what is important to you. Click here for a copy of the survey for your review.

Vestry Meetings:  June 1st and 8th - Strategies for moving forward.

The Bishops of the Dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts issued a joint Letter with guidelines for our churches.  Click here to read the guidelines.

Parish Zoom Events:
ZOOM Bingo on Sundays at 3 pm
FUN FOR ALL AGES
Go to zoom.us, and in the upper right corner click on "Join a meeting"
Meeting ID: 946 0462 5193    Password: 450074Make your own bingo cards, or go one of the following websites to print them:  (These are free.)  
https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator
https://print-bingo.com/
https://bingobaker.com/view/1228516
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/bingo7.asp
Sarah Prevelige is our host. Please contact her for help in making cards or entering the game. 

Zoom-Chats: Mondays @ 7am & Wednesdays @ 8 pm
A time tor conversation about what's working and what's not, and including a meditation led by Cindi Scrimgeour. 
Go to zoom.us and in the upper right corner click “Join a Meeting”
Mondays: Meeting ID: 413315567    Password: 715478
Wednesdays:  Meeting ID: 474316522   Password: 744170
Sarah Prevelige will host the meeting via zoom. Please contact her for information on how to join the meeting drprevelige@gmail.com. 

Game Night: Tuesdays @ 7pm 
We will be playing FIBBAGE + new online games every week.
Meeting ID: 823 3526 2364     Password: 067862
Sarah Prevelige is the host. Please contact Sarah if you have any questions: drprevelige@gmail.com

Wednesdays @ 10 am: Morning Prayer & Fellowship via ZOOM
Meeting ID: 889-0515-8309   Password:  365669
Telephone: 929-205-6099

Fridays @ Noon: Lunch & Bible Study
Meeting ID: 834-5246-9212    Password:  516264  Telephone: 
This Friday we will end our discussion of the Gospel of Thomas.   Beginning in June we will discuss the Gospel of Matthew.  We will have a Challenge competition every Friday.  Watch for more information.

First Fridays @ 12:30 - ROMEOS 
Join the men of the parish for virtual lunch and conversation. Contact Dave Clinkman for more information.  clinkman@comcast.net
Meeting ID: 839-5217-3496    Password: 70828   Telephone: 929-205-6099
Magee will be in the office on Monday and Thursday to do essential work.  Mother Judith is working remotely and is available by email and by phone, and she is checking phone messages regularly.  
Please note: A member of the parish  received a message from someone claiming to be Mother Judith and  asking for money.  Please note her phone number: 716-949-8194 and confirm with her if you receive an unexpected or unexplained text or email  
 
For the weekly announcements, click here.

Profile and Search Committees:  Inviting Applications
On July 13th, the Vestry will appoint members of the Profile and Search Committees. It seems like a very long time since we invited applications, so we are asking again.  We have a new story to tell now, and perhaps new priorities.  Please consider whether you are called to serve on one of these committees.  Canon Simpson will meet with the Committees and Vestry on September 12th.  the work of the Profile Committee will take place in the fall; the work of the Search Committee will take place in the winter and early spring.  Please contact Ginny Starkis or Susan Edmondson if you are interested in learning more.
Click here for a copy of the Application
 
 Community Dinners
Thursday May 28th  Grab n Go Meals  4:30- 6 pm 
We will distribute  meals prepared by Oliva's from the parking lot at Trinity on  the last Thursday of the month throughout the summer: June 25th, July 30th, and August 27th. If you can volunteer to help with setting up and taking down the tables, distributing meals, and bring leftover meals to the Food Pantry, in June, July, or August, please contact Glen Peterson.   We will certify Community Service credit. 
We plan to continue arranging for meals to be delivered to our frontline workers once a month, and to distribute meals from Trinity monthly.  Our purpose is to support our local small restaurants and frontline workers as well as to provide for our neighbors.  We continue our strong partnership with the Food Pantry and with other local churches and community organizations. Please contact Glen Peterson if you are able to help in any way.

To contribute to this project, please send your check payable to Trinity Church with Community Dinners on the memo line or donate directly to Hopedale Unitarian Parish, who is managing the funds for this project, by going to https://hopedaleunitarian.org  and  pressing the Donate button. Please let Mother Judith know if you would like to participate in distributing meals.

Prayer List
Please send Magee the names of people you would like to be on the Prayer List. Our policy has been to remove names after 4 weeks, but we want to be sure we follow the wishes of families and friends.  Our prayer list is included in the weekly announcements . 

Pledges
Thank you to all of you who have been sending in your pledges.  Our deposits are being made on a different schedule these days, so there may be a delay in seeing the record of your payment.  Some of you are facing financial stress: if so, please give what you can; if not, please give a bit extra to support those who cannot.

How to keep up with Trinity news:  All notices, videos, and links can be found at www.trinitychurchmilford.org
Our diocesan website offers links to online worship in our diocese.  
https://www.diocesewma.org/
Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11:15 am. https://cathedral.org/
Third season of The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry podcast began on May 5th. Click here. 
Habits of Grace: An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry
A new video meditation will be posted on Mondays through May. Click here to view the latest.

Mission Matters: News from the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA latest issue can be found here.

Meditation for the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord [transferred]
Memorial Day Weekend
May 24, 2020
 
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.    [Ephesians 1:17-18]

The town of Newfane, New York, where I served at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church for ten years, did not have a Memorial Day parade. Everyone in town—and I mean everyone-- would gather on the center green on Memorial Day morning to share in prayers, songs, and stories to honor the men and women who had lost their lives in war.  Newfane is a small town, and different generations came together with a solemnity and reverence that was inspiring. I will never forget my last experience there when all the veterans were invited to come to the stage.  The group ranged from a woman in her twenties to a man in his nineties, from veterans of World War II to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan; some were able-bodied, while others were in wheelchairs or had artificial limbs; all had hidden wounds in various--invisible--stages of healing.  Each person in that group knew more than one person who had died in war:  fathers, grandfathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles.  This diverse group, one town’s gift to our nation’s ideals of freedom and justice, is for me a breathtaking image of generosity and loss, tragedy and hope, resilience and vulnerability. 
 
This weekend we pray that, with the eyes of our hearts enlightened, we will embody the grace that endures through all devastation, and that the spirit of wisdom and revelation given to us in baptism may guide our responses to the pain all around us. 
 
Almighty God,
you will make wars to cease in all the world,
you will break the bow and shatter the spear asunder
you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are set upon you.
We remember the men and women who gave their lives to preserve our freedom
so that we might be able to respond to all victims of war.
Keep them in your loving care.
Comfort their families.
Let their courage be remembered through the generations.
To honor them, may we renew our fight against cruelty and injustice,
            against prejudice, tyranny, and oppression.
For their sake, and for the sake of the generation to come:
            Grant that the nations of the world may learn your way of peace,
that all may have the chance to enjoy the life you have given them
and that your Spirit of Peace may be known among us.    AMEN.
Sunday School this week: 10 am on Sunday via zoom.
Contact Rachel Carpenter for the access information.  rcarp76@gmail.com.
 
 
Responding to the coronavirus pandemic at Trinity
Eternal God, by raising Jesus from the dead, you give us new and abundant life. On this Ascension Day help us not to be stuck rooted to the spot looking up to the sky for your return. Rather, help us to look at each other and find your presence there in the faces we see every day. We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our brother. Amen.
 
Looking Ahead: Moving Forward
Diocese Virtual Pentecost Celebration:   May 31st 10 am
In-person worship is suspended at least through July 1st. 
The Bishops of the Dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts issued a joint Letter with guidelines for our churches.  Click here to read the guidelines. At their meeting on June 8th your Vestry will discuss a strategy for next steps at Trinity regarding in-person worship and the Rector Search.

Magee will be in the office on Thursday this week to do essential work.  Mother Judith is working remotely and is available by email and by phone, and she is checking phone messages regularly.    
Wednesdays @ 10 am
Morning Prayer & Fellowship via ZOOM
Meeting ID: 889-0515-8309   Password:  365669
Telephone: 929-205-6099
You do not need a camera on your computer to join.  Please call Mother Judith if you wish to join by telephone.

Beginning on June 7th we will begin live-streaming Sunday Worship with Virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom & Facebook Live.  Watch for more information.  We are looking for volunteers to help with the videography and recording.  Please contact Ann Marie Lockwood if you are able to help.  Please contact Peach Warren if you would like to be a Reader on any of the Sundays in June.

Videos of Mother Judith’s reflections are posted on our website and on Facebook and YouTube on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will continue to videotape a simple service of Holy Communion that will be available on our website by 9 am on Sundays.
For a copy of the Service Leaflet for Sunday click here.
For the weekly announcements, click here.
ZOOM ROMEOs
Friday May 22nd  1:15 pm
Meeting ID: 511-012-6825
Password: 899126
Telephone: 929-205-6099
We are going to resume our monthly meetings via ZOOM. This Friday, Mother Judith will join us to discuss the transitions and preparations for new ministry. Please call Kevin Keppler or Dave Clinkman for more information:
Zoom Lunch and Discussion: Noon - 1 pm The Gospel of Thomas
Meeting ID: 834-5246-9212    Password:  516264Fridays, noon-1 pm  
On Fridays in May (May 8th,15th ,22nd, and 29th )  Mother Judith is leading a discussion of the Gospel of Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of the sayings of Jesus that was found in 1945 among other Coptic manuscripts near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi. Many scholars believe that these sayings circulated before the canonical Gospels were composed. The Gospel of Thomas has been a very important source for studies of the historical Jesus, and it casts light on the diversity of early Christianity and on the various cultural forces shaping narratives of Jesus’ ministry.  You may join the conversation at any time.
For a copy of the text click here.
 
Zoom-Chats: Mondays @ 7am 
& Wednesdays @ 8 pm
Twice a week we gather and share what is working well and not so well as we shelter at home.  Anyone over 18 is welcome to join when you can.    You are welcome to participate once or often. Our evening chat is scheduled to be after dinner and chores and before we begin our evening routines, while our morning chat is scheduled before we begin our workday. Sarah Prevelige is sour with Laurel Pirelli and Cindi Scrimgeour joining her to facilitate our conversation.  In their professional lives they work with families and individuals of all ages and they are themselves parents of teens and pre-teens. 
Go to zoom.us and in the upper right corner click “Join a Meeting”
Mondays: meeting ID: 413315567    Password: 715478
Wednesdays:  meeting ID: 474316522   Password: 744170
Sarah Prevelige will host the meeting via zoom. Please contact her for information on how to join the meeting drprevelige@gmail.com. 
 
ZOOM BINGO  SUNDAYS AT 3 PM 
FUN FOR ALL AGESGo to zoom.us, and in the upper right corner click on "Join a meeting"
Meeting ID: 946 0462 5193    Password: 450074
Join friends from Trinity for  a weekly BINGO game on Sunday afternoons at 3 - 4 pm. We will be doing a classic 5 x 5 card array with a Free space in the center. (Numbers are 1-75) The game is open to all ages.  Members of each household  are welcome to play as a team or as individuals. We'll see how it goes, and perhaps add a second hour, or organize a tournament.

Make your own bingo cards, or go one of the following websites to print them:  (These are free.)  
https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generatorhttps://print-bingo.com/
https://bingobaker.com/view/1228516
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/bingo7.asp
Sarah Prevelige is our host. Please contact her for help in making cards or entering the game. 
ZOOM Game Night:  Tuesdays at 7 pm  
We will be playing FIBBAGE + new online games every week.
                       Zoom Meeting ID: 823 3526 2364     Password: 067862
For an hour of laughter and fun for children and adults of all ages.You will need your computer to log into the zoom meeting.  You will also need a separate smart device (phone, tablet, ipad, etc) as your game remote control.   Once everyone is in the meeting we will form teams and a different code will be given to use your smart device/phone (where players will type and choose answers).  Eight people can play at once while the rest of us cheer and join in the laughter.  Come see what all the fun is about during our family friendly game night!!!  Sarah Prevelige is the host. Please contact Sarah if you have any questions: drprevelige@gmail.com

Community Dinners
Thursday May 28th  Grab n Go Meals  4:30- 6 pm 
We will distribute  meals prepared by Oliva's from the parking lot at Trinity on May 28th and on the last Thursday of the month throughout the summer: June 25th, July 30th, and August 27th. We have enough volunteers for this month, but  If you can volunteer to help with setting up and taking down the tables, distributing meals, and bring leftover meals to the Food Pantry, in June, July, or August, please contact Glen Peterson.   We will certify Community Service credit.
We plan to continue arranging for meals to be delivered to our frontline workers once a month, and to distribute meals from Trinity monthly.  Our purpose is to support our local small restaurants and frontline workers as well as to provide for our neighbors.  We continue our strong partnership with the Food Pantry and with other local churches and community organizations. Please contact Glen Peterson if you are able to help in any way.

To contribute to this project, please send your check payable to Trinity Church with Community Dinners on the memo line or donate directly to Hopedale Unitarian Parish, who is managing the funds for this project, by going to https://hopedaleunitarian.org  and  pressing the Donate button. Please let Mother Judith know if you would like to participate in distributing meals.

Prayer List
Please send Magee the names of people you would like to be on the Prayer List. Our policy has been to remove names after 4 weeks, but we want to be sure we follow the wishes of families and friends.  

Pledges
Thank you to all of you who have been sending in your pledges.  Our deposits are being made on a different schedule these days, so there may be a delay in seeing the record of your payment.  Some of you are facing financial stress: if so, please give what you can; if not, please give a bit extra to support those who cannot.

How to keep up with Trinity news:  All notices, videos, and links can be found at www.trinitychurchmilford.org
Our diocesan website offers links to online worship in our diocese.  
https://www.diocesewma.org/
Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11:15 am. https://cathedral.org/
 
Third season of The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry podcast began on May 5th. Click here. 
Habits of Grace: An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry
 A new video meditation will be posted on Mondays through May. Click here to view the latest.
 
Beloved Community Commission Offers "Holy Conversation with Howard Thurman,"  author of Jesus and the Disinherited . Click here for more details.

Mission Matters: News from the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA latest issue can be found here.

​Meditation for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
Rogation Sunday
May 17, 2020
  
‘The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.  [Acts 17: 24-25]
 
This Sunday we will observe Rogation Sunday, an English tradition that may have originated in the ancient world.  On this day, rural communities ask God’s blessing on their newly planted crops, and traditionally the parish priest led a procession that marked off the boundaries of the church grounds, asking for God’s blessing on the community and giving thanks for the bounty of the earth.   On this day when we recognize our interdependence with those who produce and deliver our food and we ask God’s blessing on our own gardens. And we pray that the “seeds” we may plant in our lives may be fruitful and a source of beauty.
 
Paul’s teaching about “an unknown god” gives a meaningful context for this prayer during these days.  Paul recalls discovering among all the shrines in Athens a shrine “to an unknown God.”  This is the God whom the Jews worship, he tells the Athenians; this is the God who created all human beings so that we would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him even though he is indeed not far from each one of us. This is a profound moment of awakening for Paul, who had been among the most rigid defenders of Jewish orthodoxy.  Faith illuminates the interdependence of all nations and individuals by revealing the life and longing we share.  God is beyond our imagination or understanding, but faith in God brings us together in ways so surprising and unmistakable that we do not need to understand them.
 
O gracious Father,
you open your hand and fill all things living with plenty:
Bless the lands and waters, and multiply the harvests of the world;
let your Spirit go forth, that it may renew the face of the earth;
show your loving-kindness, that our land may give her increase;
and save us from selfish use of what you give,
that men and women everywhere may give you thanks;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Sunday School this week: Contact Rachel Carpenter for the access information.  rcarp76@gmail.com.
We will be playing a board game on ZOOM through screen share focusing on Rogation Sunday and taking care of God's creation:)  We will share what twe've been working on outside in our own gardens:  be ready to show pictures if you can!
 
Responding to the coronavirus pandemic at Trinity
Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy
in this time of uncertainty and distress.
Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
— Diocese of Exeter, Church of England
 
Looking Ahead: Moving Forward
Diocese Virtual Pentecost Celebration: 
May 31st 10 am
In-person worship is suspended at least through July 1st. 
To read the Bishop's Pastoral Letter click here.

Magee will be in the office on Mondays and Thursdays to do essential work.  Mother Judith is working remotely and is available by email and by phone, and she is checking phone messages regularly.    
Beginning next Week:  Wednesday May 20th  10 am
Morning Prayer & Fellowship via ZOOM
Meeting ID: 889-0515-8309   Password:  365669
You do not need a camera on your computer to join.  Please call Mother Judith if you wish to join by telephone.

In June we will begin live-streaming Sunday Worship with Virtual Coffee Hour.  Watch for more information.  We are looking for volunteers to help with the videography and recording.  Please contact Ann Marie Lockwood if you are able to help.  Please contact Peach Warren if you would like to be a Reader on any of the Sundays in June.

Videos of Mother Judith’s reflections are posted on our website and on Facebook and YouTube on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will continue to videotape a simple service of Holy Communion that will be available on our website by 9 am on Sundays.
For a copy of the Service Leaflet for Sunday click here.
For a copy of the readings for Sunday, click here.
For the weekly announcements, click here.
ZOOM ROMEOs
Friday May 22nd  1:15 pm
Meeting ID: 511-012-6825
Password: 899126
We are going to resume our monthly meetings via ZOOM. This Friday, Mother Judith will join us to discuss the transitions and preparations for new ministry. Please call Kevin Keppler or Dave Clinkman for more information:

 

 
Zoom Lunch and Discussion: Noon - 1 pm The Gospel of Thomas
Meeting ID: 834-5246-9212    Password:  516264Fridays, noon-1 pm  
On Fridays in May (May 8th,15th ,22nd, and 29th )  Mother Judith will lead a discussion of the Gospel of Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of the sayings of Jesus that was found in 1945 among other Coptic manuscripts near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi. Many scholars believe that these sayings circulated before the canonical Gospels were composed. The Gospel of Thomas has been a very important source for studies of the historical Jesus, and it casts light on the diversity of early Christianity and on the various cultural forces shaping narratives of Jesus’ ministry.  You may join the conversation at any time.
For a copy of the text click here.
Zoom-Chats: Mondays @ 7am
& Wednesdays @ 8 pm
Twice a week we gather and share what is working well and not so well as we shelter at home.  Anyone over 18 is welcome to join when you can.    You are welcome to participate once or often. Our evening chat is scheduled to be after dinner and chores and before we begin our evening routines, while our morning chat is scheduled before we begin our workday. Sarah Prevelige is sour with Laurel Pirelli and Cindi Scrimgeour joining her to facilitate our conversation.  In their professional lives they work with families and individuals of all ages and they are themselves parents of teens and pre-teens. 
Go to zoom.us and in the upper right corner click “Join a Meeting”
Mondays: meeting ID: 413315567    Password: 715478
Wednesdays:  meeting ID: 474316522   Password: 744170

Sarah Prevelige will host the meeting via zoom. Please contact her for information on how to join the meeting drprevelige@gmail.com. 
 
ZOOM BINGO  SUNDAYS AT 3 PM 
FUN FOR ALL AGESGo to zoom.us, and in the upper right corner click on "Join a meeting"
Meeting ID: 946 0462 5193    Password: 450074
Join friends from Trinity for  a weekly BINGO game on Sunday afternoons at 3 - 4 pm. We will be doing a classic 5 x 5 card array with a Free space in the center. (Numbers are 1-75) The game is open to all ages.  Members of each household  are welcome to play as a team or as individuals. We'll see how it goes, and perhaps add a second hour, or organize a tournament.

Make your own bingo cards, or go one of the following websites to print them:  (These are free.)  
https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generatorhttps://print-bingo.com/
https://bingobaker.com/view/1228516
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/bingo7.asp
Sarah Prevelige is our host. Please contact her for help in making cards or entering the game. 
ZOOM Game Night:  Tuesdays at 7 pm  
We will be playing FIBBAGE + new online games every week.
                       Zoom Meeting ID: 823 3526 2364     Password: 067862
For an hour of laughter and fun for children and adults of all ages.You will need your computer to log into the zoom meeting.  You will also need a separate smart device (phone, tablet, ipad, etc) as your game remote control.   Once everyone is in the meeting we will form teams and a different code will be given to use your smart device/phone (where players will type and choose answers).  Eight people can play at once while the rest of us cheer and join in the laughter.  Come see what all the fun is about during our family friendly game night!!!  Sarah Prevelige is the host. Please contact Sarah if you have any questions: drprevelige@gmail.com

Community Dinners
Thursday May 28th  4- 6 pm Volunteers needed
At Trinity, we will distribute meals prepared by Oliva's.  Volunteers will set up tables, distribute meals, and take down the tables. We will certify  Community Service credit.
We plan to continue arranging for meals to be delivered to our frontline workers once a month, and to distribute meals from Trinity monthly.  Our purpose is to support our local small restaurants and frontline workers as well as to provide for our neighbors.  We continue our strong partnership with the Food Pantry and with other local churches and community organizations. Please contact Glen Peterson if you are able to help in any way.

To contribute to this project, please send your check payable to Trinity Church with Community Dinners on the memo line or donate directly to Hopedale Unitarian Parish, who is managing the funds for this project, by going to https://hopedaleunitarian.org  and  pressing the Donate button. Please let Mother Judith know if you would like to participate in distributing meals.

Prayer List
Please send Magee the names of people you would like to be on the Prayer List. Our policy has been to remove names after 4 weeks, but we want to be sure we follow the wishes of families and friends.  

Pledges
Thank you to all of you who have been sending in your pledges.  Our deposits are being made on a different schedule these days, so there may be a delay in seeing the record of your payment.  Some of you are facing financial stress: if so, please give what you can; if not, please give a bit extra to support those who cannot.

How to keep up with Trinity news:  All notices, videos, and links can be found at www.trinitychurchmilford.org
Our diocesan website offers links to online worship in our diocese.  
https://www.diocesewma.org/
Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11:15 am. https://cathedral.org/
 
Third season of The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry podcast began on May 5th. Click here. 
Habits of Grace: An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry
 A new video meditation will be posted on Mondays through May. Click here to view the latest.
 
Beloved Community Commission Offers "Holy Conversation with Howard Thurman,"  author of Jesus and the Disinherited . Click here for more details.

Mission Matters: News from the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA latest issue can be found here.

Responding to the coronavirus pandemic at Trinity
There will be no Digital Sunday School or Zoom Bingo this Sunday.

God of all creation, whose people prepared a tabernacle for you and carried it with them through the wilderness so they would never be alone:
If we must venture into a landscape transformed by crisis, may we be living vessels of your mercy, grace, and love.  Remind us to carry our treasure gingerly, with a respectful four cubits between ourselves and all the other tabernacles. Make of us big cans of friendliness, patience, and forgiveness in parking lots and the marketplace. May we be balm for the sick, isolated, and overlooked and a bitter pill for those in power who do not promote what is best for all your people. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
                                                                             -The Rt. Rev. John Taylor, Bishop of Los Angeles
 
Looking Ahead: Moving Forward
Diocese Virtual Pentecost Celebration:  May 31st 10 am – Watch for more information.
The Bishop has formed a committee of staff and the Deans to develop a phased plan for moving forward.  He will announce this plan after Trinity Sunday (June 7th), in order to give Vestries guidelines for making decisions for their communities.  We are coordinating our efforts with the Diocese of Massachusetts so that we will have a common plan across the state, guided by epidemiologists who have been working with the diocese.  Please share your questions or concerns with Mother Judith

Magee will be in the office on Mondays and Thursdays to do essential work.  Mother Judith is working remotely and is available by email and by phone, and she is checking phone messages regularly.    

Videos of Mother Judith’s reflections are posted on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will continue to videotape a simple service of Holy Communion that will be available on our website by 9 am on Sundays.
For a copy of the Service Leaflet for Sunday click here.
For a copy of the readings for Sunday, click here.
For the weekly announcements, click here.
There will be no Sunday School this week.  For Mother's Day activities, 
 
Zoom Lunch and Discussion: Noon - 1 pm The Gospel of Thomas
Meeting ID: 834-5246-9212    Password:  516264
Fridays, noon-1 pm  
On Fridays in May (May 8th,15th ,22nd, and 29th )  Mother Judith will lead a discussion of the Gospel of Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of the sayings of Jesus that was found in 1945 among other Coptic manuscripts near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi. Many scholars believe that these sayings circulated before the canonical Gospels were composed. The Gospel of Thomas has been a very important source for studies of the historical Jesus, and it casts light on the diversity of early Christianity and on the various cultural forces shaping narratives of Jesus’ ministry.
For a copy of the text click here.

Zoom-Chats: Mondays @ 7am & Wednesdays @ 8 pm
Twice a week we gather and share what is working well and not so well as we shelter at home.  Anyone over 18 is welcome to join when you can.    You are welcome to participate once or often. Our evening chat is scheduled to be after dinner and chores and before we begin our evening routines, while our morning chat is scheduled before we begin our workday. Sarah Prevelige is sour with Laurel Pirelli and Cindi Scrimgeour joining her to facilitate our conversation.  In their professional lives they work with families and individuals of all ages and they are themselves parents of teens and pre-teens. 
Go to zoom.us and in the upper right corner click “Join a Meeting”
Wednesdays:  meeting ID: 474316522   Password: 744170
Mondays: meeting ID: 413315567    Password: 715478
Sarah Prevelige will host the meeting via zoom. Please contact her for information on how to join the meeting drprevelige@gmail.com. 
Please send any questions you’d like to discuss to Cindi Scrimgeour at cscrimgeour@gmail.com 

ZOOM BINGO  SUNDAYS AT 3 PM 
FUN FOR ALL AGES
NOT THIS SUNDAY - WE'RE TAKING A BREAK FOR MOTHER'S DAY
Join friends from Trinity for  a weekly BINGO game on Sunday afternoons at 3 - 4 pm. We will be doing a classic 5 x 5 card array with a Free space in the center. (Numbers are 1-75) The game is open to all ages.  Members of each household  are welcome to play as a team or as individuals. We'll see how it goes, and perhaps add a second hour, or organize a tournament.What to do:
Make your own bingo cards, or go one of the following websites to print them:  (These are free.)
 https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator
https://print-bingo.com/
https://bingobaker.com/view/1228516
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/bingo7.asp
Sarah Prevelige is our host. Please contact her for help in making cards or entering the game. Here is the Sunday Zoom Meeting Information:
Go to zoom.us, and in the upper right corner click "Join a meeting'
     Meeting ID: 946 0462 5193    Password: 450074

ZOOM Game Night: 
Tuesdays at 7 pm 
We will be playing FIBBAGE + new online games every week.
Zoom Meeting ID: 823 3526 2364     Password: 067862
Join the hilarity of trying to stump your opponents with a fib.  Compete to see who is best at identifying fibs! You will need your computer to log into the zoom meeting.  You will also need a separate smart device (phone, tablet, ipad, etc) as your game remote control.   Once everyone is in the meeting we will form teams and a different code will be given to use your smart device/phone (where players will type and choose answers).  Eight people can play at once while the rest of us cheer and join in the laughter.  Come see what all the fun is about during our family friendly game night!!!  Sarah Prevelige is the host. Please contact Sarah if you have any questions: drprevelige@gmail.com

Community Dinners
Because we cannot plan to serve dinners, Trinity and our partners are funding takeout dinners from local restaurants for our first responders at the hospital, fire hall, police station, post office and grocery store. This week, we are coordinating with Johnny Jack's, Rose's Villa, and Paderia Brazilian Bakery to have meals delivered to the hospital, the Milford Post Office, and a local grocery store.  On May 28th, Oliva's will provide meals to be distributed from Trinity.  We have also donated $200 to the Food Pantry, which continues to be open to receive donations on Monday evenings. To contribute to this project, please send your check payable to Trinity Church with Community Dinners on the memo line or donate directly to Hopedale Unitarian Parish, who is managing the funds for this project, by going to https://hopedaleunitarian.org  and  pressing the Donate button. Please let Mother Judith know if you would like to participate in distributing meals.

Prayer List
Please send Magee the names of people you would like to be on the Prayer List. Our policy has been to remove names after 4 weeks, but we want to be sure we follow the wishes of families and friends.  

Pledges
Thank you to all of you who have been sending in your pledges.  Our deposits are being made on a different schedule these days, so there may be a delay in seeing the record of your payment.  Some of you are facing financial stress: if so, please give what you can; if not, please give a bit extra to support those who cannot.

How to keep up with Trinity news:  All notices, videos, and links can be found at www.trinitychurchmilford.org
Our diocesan website offers links to online worship in our diocese.  
https://www.diocesewma.org/
Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11:15 am. https://cathedral.org/

Trinity GFS Scholarships are Available:  Deadline extended to this Wednesday May 15th
Each year, Trinity gives monetary awards to qualified members who are entering an institution of higher education. These awards recognize attendance and service to Trinity Parish during the applicant's high school years. The application is available to download on the Trinity Church website at www.trinitychurchmilford.org Applications must be received by May 15th  and the recipients will be notified shortly thereafter.  Please direct all questions to GFS Scholarship Committee a gfs@trinitychurchmilford.org

This Wednesday May 15th - deadline for Newsletter submissions.
 
Third season of The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry podcast begins May 5 with guest Jen Hatmaker. Click here. 

Habits of Grace: An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry
 A new video meditation will be posted on Mondays through May. Click here to view the latest.
 
Beloved Community Commission Offers "Holy Conversation with Howard Thurman,"  author of Jesus and the Disinherited . Click here for more details.

Mission Matters: News from the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA latest issue can be found here.

     I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.   [John 10:10]

This coming Sunday is often called Good Shepherd Sunday.  We are reminded that no matter how far we wander, how obstinately we resist, or how fearfully we cower, God’s compassionate watchfulness will protect us.

The Greek word that is usually translated as “good” (kalos) can also be translated as noble, beautiful, perfect, precious, wonderful. These variations help us to recapture the awe with which Jesus’ earliest followers would have listened to him and why, we are told, they did not understand what he was saying to them John [10:6].  They describe a prophet and a king they had experienced only in the stories at the core of their tradition.
 
Jesus’ words are a clarion call to us, especially in these days that challenge us to rethink what it means to “be church” when we cannot gather for worship or be present to the people who come to us in greatest need.  As the Body of Christ, we are called not merely to be good.  We are called to be noble . . .beautiful . . . wonderful. We are called not merely to feed the hungry, but to ensure that they feel fulfilled; we are called not merely to overcome self-destructive willfulness but to strengthen relationships that can be humbling; we are called not merely to make people safe, but to ensure that they feel empowered.  In the words of Jean Vanier:

 Jesus, Light of the world, calls his disciples to become light for the world.  Jesus, the Good Shepherd, calls us to become good shepherds, to mature spiritually, to help others in need, and to seek out those who are lost, crushed, or oppressed, who have been pushed to the margins of society. . . To become a good shepherd is to come out of the shell of selfishness in order to be attentive to those for whom we are responsible so as to reveal to them their fundamental beauty and value and help them to grow and become fully alive.        [Drawn into the Mystery of Jesus through the Gospel of John, pp. 187, 189.]
 
Responding to the coronavirus pandemic at Trinity
May we who are merely inconvenienced, remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors, remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home, remember those who must  choose between preserving their health and making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close, remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips, remember those who have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market, remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home, remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country, let us choose love.
And during this time when we may not be able to physically wrap our arms around  each other, let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors. Amen

A Death in the Extended Parish Family
We share with sadness that Yvonne Mack, mother of Steve Klisiewicz, passed away in Chicopee MA on April 27th after a courageous 4-year battle with cancer. Notes of condolence may be sent to the Steve, Elizabeth, and Julia at 309 North Main Street, Whitinsville MA 01588. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date.

Magee has returned to be in the office one or two days each week to do essential work.  Mother Judith is working remotely and is available by email and by phone, and she is checking phone messages regularly.   All parish meetings will be held remotely.
Public worship is suspended until further notice
 
Videos of Mother Judith’s reflections are posted on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will continue to videotape a simple service of Holy Communion that will be available on our website by 9 am on Sundays.

For a copy of the Service Leaflet for Sunday click here.

For a copy of the readings for Sunday, click here.

For the weekly announcements, click here.

Sunday School: Rachel Carpenter will lead Digital Sunday School on Sunday at 10 am.   This week's discussion and activity will center on Jesus our Good Shepherd. .Please email Rachel  at rcarp76@gmail.com if you will be attending zoom Church school this Sunday.   Sunday school activities are available on our website by Monday morning.  www.trinitychurchmilford.org
 
Zoom-Chats: Wednesdays @8 pm 
& Mondays @ 7 am 
Twice a week we gather and share what is working well and not so well as we shelter at home.  Anyone over 18 is welcome to join when you can.    You are welcome to participate once or often. Our evening chat is scheduled to be after dinner and chores and before we begin our evening routines, while our morning chat is scheduled before we begin our workday. Sarah Prevelige will host, with Laurel Pirelli and Cindi Scrimgeour joining her to facilitate our conversation.  In their professional lives they work with families and individuals of all ages and they are themselves parents of teens and pre-teens. 
Go to zoom.us and in the upper right corner click “Join a Meeting”
Wednesdays:  meeting ID: 474316522   Password: 744170
Mondays: meeting ID: 413315567    Password: 715478
Sarah Prevelige will host the meeting via zoom. Please contact her for information on how to join the meeting drprevelige@gmail.com. 
Please send any questions you’d like to discuss to Cindi Scrimgeour at cscrimgeour@gmail.com 

ZOOM BINGO  SUNDAYS AT 3 PM
FUN FOR ALL AGES!
Join friends from Trinity for  a weekly BINGO game on Sunday afternoons at 3 - 4 pm. We will be doing a classic 5 x 5 card array with a Free space in the center. (Numbers are 1-75) The game is open to all ages.  Members of each household  are welcome to play as a team or as individuals. We'll see how it goes, and perhaps add a second hour, or organize a tournament.What to do:
Make your own bingo cards, or go one of the following websites to print them:  (These are free.)
 https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator
https://print-bingo.com/
https://bingobaker.com/view/1228516 
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/bingo7.asp
Sarah Prevelige will host. Please contact her for help in making cards or entering the game. Here is the Sunday Zoom Meeting Information:
Go to zoom.us, and in the upper right corner click "Join a meeting'
Meeting ID: 946 0462 5193    Password: 450074
ZOOM Game Night: 
Tuedays at 7 pm [Note new time]
We will be playing FIBBAGE
Zoom Meeting ID: 823 3526 2364     Password: 067862
Join the hilarity of trying to stump your opponents with a fib.  You will need your computer to log into the zoom meeting.  You will also need a separate smart device (phone, tablet, ipad, etc) as your game remote control.   Once everyone is in the meeting we will form teams and a different code will be given to use your smart device/phone (where players will type and choose answers).  Eight people can play at once while the rest of us cheer and join in the laughter.  Come see what all the fun is about during our family friendly game night!!!  Sarah Prevelige is the host. Please contact Sarah if you have any questions: drprevelige@gmail.comZoom Lunch and Discussion: The Gospel of ThomasFridays, noon-1 pm  Beginning May 8th
On Fridays in May (May 8th, 15th ,22nd, and 29th ) leading up to the Feast of Pentecost, Mother Judith will lead a discussion of the Gospel of Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of the sayings of Jesus that was found in 1945 among other Coptic manuscripts near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi. Many scholars believe that these sayings circulated before the canonical Gospels were composed. The Gospel of Thomas has been a very important source for studies of the historical Jesus, and it casts light on the diversity of early Christianity and on the various cultural forces shaping narratives of Jesus’ ministry. The text of the Gospel of Thomas can be printed as a pdf for free from www.holytexts.com. 

​Community Dinners
Because we cannot plan to serve dinners in April or May, Trinity and our partners are funding takeout dinners from local restaurants for our first responders at the hospital, fire hall, police station, post office and grocery store. This week, we are coordinating with Christiano's. Gene's Variety Store, and Chipotle to have meals delivered to the hospital and to Stop n Shop.  We have also donated $200 to the Food Pantry, which continues to be open to receive donations on Padaria Braxilian Bakery for first  responders during the second week in May, and on May 28th we will distribute "Grab-n-Go" takeout meals purchased from local restaurants at Trinity.  To contribute to this project, please send your check payable to Trinity Church with Community Dinners on the memo line or donate directly to Hopedale Unitarian Parish, who is managing the funds for this project, by going to https://hopedaleunitarian.org  and  pressing the Donate button. Please let Mother Judith know if you would like to participate in distributing meals.

Prayer List
Please send Magee the names of people you would like to be on the Prayer List. Our policy has been to remove names after 4 weeks, but we want to be sure we follow the wishes of families and friends.  

Pledges
Thank you to all of you who have been sending in your pledges.  Our deposits are being made on a different schedule these days, so there may be a delay in seeing the record of your payment.  Some of you are facing financial stress: if so, please give what you can; if not, please give a bit extra to support those who cannot.

Face Masks
Now that we are required to wear face masks in public, Trinity wants to help provide them. Several people have inquired about how to make masks, and others have inquired about how to get them.  Ginny Starkis is coordinating our efforts to locate materials and to distribute masks.  Please contact Ginny if you would like to participate in this project.. vstarkis@verizon.net 

How to keep up with Trinity news:  All notices, videos, and links can be found at www.trinitychurchmilford.org
Our diocesan website offers links to online worship in our diocese.  
https://www.diocesewma.org/
Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11:15 am. https://cathedral.org/

Trinity GFS Scholarships are Available:  Deadline extended to May 15th
Each year, Trinity gives monetary awards to qualified members who are entering an institution of higher education. These awards recognize attendance and service to Trinity Parish during the applicant's high school years. The application is available to download on the Trinity Church website at www.trinitychurchmilford.org Applications must be received by May 15th  and the recipients will be notified shortly thereafter.  Please direct all questions to GFS Scholarship Committee a gfs@trinitychurchmilford.org

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Word to the Church: What Would Love Do?
In the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, we are now at another one of those threshold moments when important and significant decisions must be made on all levels of our global community for the good and the well-being of the entire human family. In this moment, I would ask you to allow me to share with you a Word to the Church: What Would Love Do? Click here to view his message.

Habits of Grace: An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry
 A new video meditation will be posted on Mondays through May. Click here to view the latest.
 
Beloved Community Commission Offers "Holy Conversation with Howard Thurman,"
author of Jesus and the Disinherited . Click here for more details.

Mission Matters: News from the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA latest issue can be found here.

We had hoped . . .  [Luke 24.21[
Every year at this time we read the story of Jesus’ encounter with two disciples as they walk to Emmaus on the evening of the resurrection. The two men do not recognize Jesus when he comes near because they are preoccupied with the death of Jesus and the “astounding” story told by the women who had visited the empty tomb.  We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel, they say [Luke 24.21].  They can no longer see the future they had imagined.  They cannot fit together the different pieces of the stories they have heard until they later recognize Jesus when they share supper.  They thought they had lost everything, but Jesus showed them that they were wrong: They still had the open minds and burning hearts that led them to Jesus in the first place, and they were still able to offer hospitality to a stranger—even to one who seemed suspiciously ignorant about the week’s events.  
 
I have a feeling that this phrase we had hoped will resonate more deeply for all of us this year. My heart goes out in particular to those who anticipated being on the threshold of a life they had dreamed of-–especially our high school and college graduates. They may feel  that their future has been stolen from them; they may not be able to make sense of advice that is now outdated, of the goals that may now seem irrelevant, or of the sacrifices they have made to achieve dreams that may now be elusive.  
 
And yet, perhaps this year we will be able to hear Jesus’ assurance more clearly.  Jesus reminds us—with these two disciples-- that we have the resources to reimagine our lives, that everything—both what we have expected and what has blindsided us—makes sense in the long history of God’s saving grace and the larger vision of God’s ongoing creation. This story reminds us that it is in the small, ordinary acts—walking together, telling stories and sharing meals—that we discover the truth of who we are and we see a new path open before us.  We will gradually glimpse unforeseen possibilities, for these are gifts of God’s grace, as rare and as ordinary as freshly baked bread.
                       
Holy and Loving God, through the resurrection of your Son, help us to face the future with courage and assurance, knowing that nothing in death or life can ever part us from your love. Jesus, we believe you.  You break the bread; we recognize you. You are the fire that burns within us; use us to light the world. Amen.
 
Responding to the coronavirus pandemic at Trinity
The Other Side of the Virus: An Opportunity to Awaken.
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise, you can hear the birds again. . 
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting.
All over the world people are looking at their neighbors in a new way.
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
      To how big we really are.
      To how little control we really have.  
      To what really matters.
      To Love.
So we pray and we remember that yes there is fear.  But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.  But there does not have to be loneliness. . . .
Yes there is sickness.  But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes there is even death.  But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now. . . .
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic-
      The birds are singing again
      The sky is clearing,
      Spring has arrived.
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul.
                                                                  - Written by Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM, March 13th 20
 
Magee has returned to be in the office one or two days each week to do essential work.  Mother Judith is working remotely and is available by email and by phone, and she is checking phone messages regularly.   All parish meetings will be held remotely.         Public worship is suspended until further notice
 
Videos of Mother Judith’s reflections are posted on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will continue to videotape a simple service of Holy Communion that will be available on our website by 9 am on Sundays.
For a copy of the Service Leaflet for Sunday click here.
For a copy of the readings for Sunday, click here.
For the weekly announcements, click here.

Sunday School: Rachel Carpenter will lead Digital Sunday School on Sunday at 10 am.  This Sunday, we will be focusing on Earth Day and how we can take care of God’s creation.  We will be doing a hands on project and I will be dropping off supplies to everyone on Saturday.   Please email Rachel  at rcarp76@gmail.com if you will be attending zoom Church school this Sunday!   
Click here for a simple nature scavenger hunt to take with you on a walk this week!.
Sunday school activities are available on our website by Monday morning.  www.trinitychurchmilford.org

Holy Communion at Home
You are welcome to set aside bread or crackers to eat while participating the Holy Communion service on Sundays.  We will be sharing what is called “spiritual communion,” and the bread will be a sign of the Christ-centered bond we share as a community of faith.  For suggestions on setting up a home altar for Holy Communion click here.
 
Zoom-Chats: Wednesdays @8 pm 
& Mondays @ 7 am 
Twice a week we gather and share what is working well and not so well as we shelter at home.  Anyone over 18 is welcome to join when you can.    You are welcome to participate once or often. Our evening chat is scheduled to be after dinner and chores and before we begin our evening routines, while our morning chat is scheduled before we begin our workday. Sarah Prevelige will host, with Laurel Pirelli and Cindi Scrimgeour joining her to facilitate our conversation.  In their professional lives they work with families and individuals of all ages and they are themselves parents of teens and pre-teens. 
Go to zoom.us and in the upper right corner click “Join a Meeting”
Wednesdays:  meeting ID: 474316522   Password: 744170
Mondays: meeting ID: 413315567    Password: 715478
Sarah Prevelige will host the meeting via zoom. Please contact her for information on how to join the meeting drprevelige@gmail.com. 
Please send any questions you’d like to discuss to Cindi Scrimgeour at cscrimgeour@gmail.com 

ZOOM BINGO  SUNDAYS AT 3 PM
FUN FOR ALL AGES
Join friends from Trinity for  a weekly BINGO game on Sunday afternoons at 3 - 4 pm. We will be doing a classic 5 x 5 card array with a Free space in the center. (Numbers are 1-75) The game is open to all ages.  Members of each household  are welcome to play as a team or as individuals. We'll see how it goes, and perhaps add a second hour, or organize a tournament.What to do:
Make your own bingo cards, or go one of the following websites to print them:  (These are free.)
 https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator
https://print-bingo.com/
https://bingobaker.com/view/1228516 
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/bingo7.asp
Sarah Prevelige will host. Please contact her for help in making cards or entering the game. Here is the Sunday Zoom Meeting Information:
Go to zoom.us, and in the upper right corner click "Join a meeting'
Meeting ID: 946 0462 5193    Password: 450074
ZOOM Game Night:  Watch for more information.

Prayer List
Please send Magee the names of people you would like to be on the Prayer List. Our policy has been to remove names after 4 weeks, but we want to be sure we follow the wishes of families and friends.  

Pledges
Thank you to all of you who have been sending in your pledges.  Our deposits are being made on a different schedule these days, so there may be a delay in seeing the record of your payment.  Some of you are facing financial stress: if so, please give what you can; if not, please give a bit extra to support those who cannot.

Face Masks
Now that we are required to wear face masks in public, Trinity wants to help provide them. Several people have inquired about how to make masks, and others have inquired about how to get them.  Ginny Starkis is coordinating our efforts to locate materials and to distribute masks.  Please contact Ginny if you would like to participate in this project.. vstarkis@verizon.net 

How to keep up with Trinity news:  All notices, videos, and links can be found at www.trinitychurchmilford.org
Our diocesan website offers links to online worship in our diocese.  
https://www.diocesewma.org/
Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11:15 am. https://cathedral.org/

Community Dinners
Because we cannot plan to serve dinners in April or May, Trinity and our partners are planning to fund takeout dinners from local restaurants for our first responders at the hospital, fire hall, police station, post office and grocery store. This week, we are coordinating with Christiano's. Gene's Variety Store, and Chipotle to have meals delivered to the hospital and to Stop n Shop.  We are also donating $200 to the Food Pantry, which continues to be open to receive donations on Monday evenings. To contribute to this project, please send your check payable to Trinity Church with Community Dinners on the memo line. 

Trinity GFS Scholarships are Available:  Deadline extended to May 15th
Each year, Trinity gives monetary awards to qualified members who are entering an institution of higher education. These awards recognize attendance and service to Trinity Parish during the applicant's high school years. The application is available to download on the Trinity Church website at www.trinitychurchmilford.org Applications must be received by May 15th  and the recipients will be notified shortly thereafter.  Please direct all questions to GFS Scholarship Committee a gfs@trinitychurchmilford.org
 
Habits of Grace: An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry
 A new video meditation will be posted on Mondays through May.

A Meditation for Easter 
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!  The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
 Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
                                                                                                      [Matthew 28:5]
 We are an Easter People.
Year after year, we return to the empty tomb.
Year after year, we wonder how we will move the stone that blocks our way.
Year after year, we are surprised by grace.
Year after year, we are at a loss for words.
Year after year, we hear these words--
            Do not be afraid.
And this year, let us do more than hear-
            Let us listen
            Let us trust God to do what God does—in the dusk and in the dawn--
            Let us commit ourselves to being an Easter People
                        Overcome with awe, trembling with hope.
                        Trusting in the new life that dawns this day.
                        Seeking the risen Christ.                                  In the words of John Donohue

Darkness and lostness are the worst parts of suffering.  The wonder of the Resurrection is that this darkness was opened out and at the heart of the darkness a secret light was discovered. . . So on this Easter morning, let us look again at the lives we have been so generously given and let us let fall away the useless baggage that we carry—old pains, old habits, old ways of seeing and feeling—and let us have the courage to begin again. . . . We don’t realize the good that we can do . . . We were send here to search for the light of Easter in our hearts, and when we find it we are meant to give it away generously.
                                             Walking in Wonder, ed. John Quinn   pp. 103, 104
           
Responding to the coronavirus pandemic at Trinity

A Prayer in the Time of the Coronavirus
God of compassion,
           be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.In their loneliness, be their consolation;
in their anxiety, be their hope;
in their darkness, be their light;
through him who suffered alone on the cross,
but reigns with you in glory, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 
The Parish Office is closed except for essential work. Per the governor’s order, public worship is suspended through May 3rd.  Magee will be on self-quarantine for the next two weeks after being exposed to someone diagnosed with the Covid-19 on Friday.  We keep Magee in our prayers, and her 94-year-old aunt, Jean Conway, who was diagnosed.  Magee has not been in the office or near anyone except her immediate family since being exposed.
 
Mother Judith is available by phone and email.   Videos of Mother Judith’s reflections are posted on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Videos of services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday are available on YouTube, Facebook, and our website. www.trinitychurchmilford.org    Many thanks to Ann Marie Lockwood for being our videographer extraordinaire, to Wayne Stochaj for recording the music, and to Peach Warren and Mary-Ellen Yaroshefski for participating in the Maundy Thursday service and for preparing the altar for Easter Sunday.  
For service leaflet for Maundy Thursday, click here.
Good Friday click here
and Easter Day click here.

Holy Communion at Home
For this holiest week of the church year, you are welcome to set aside bread or crackers to eat during the Holy Communion service on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Sunday.  We will be sharing what is called “spiritual communion,” and the bread will be a sign of the Christ-centered bond we share as a community of faith.
 For suggestions on setting up a home altar for Holy Communion click here

Virtual Easter Egg Hunt
Rachel Carpenter has designed a virtual Easter Egg Hunt for our website.  Invite your friends for some fun! www.trinitychurchmilford.org

Zoom-Chats: Wednesday @8-8:30 pm [beginning April 8th]
& Mondays @ 7-7:30 am [beginning April 13th ]
As the days of “sheltering in place” stretch on, most of us have developed new ways of living and relating with each other, with varying degrees of success.  With a few weeks behind us and an uncertain number of weeks ahead of us, it is a good time to share questions and strategies for coping.  Three members of Trinity who are mental health professionals have offered to host “zoom chats” for adults (anyone over the age of 18).  Sarah Prevelige is a psychologist, Laurel Pirelli is a school psychologist, and Cindi Scrimgeour is a Counselor; they work with families and individuals of all ages and they are themselves parents of teens and pre-teens.
 
These chats are designed to be a time for sharing stories about how we have adapted to a “new normal,” what has worked well and what has not. Specific topics for discussion will evolve depend on the interests of the group.  You are welcome to participate once or often.

The next Wednesday meeting will be held on April 15th, and the first Monday meeting will be on April 13th.  Sarah Prevelige will host the meeting via zoom.  Please send any questions you’d like to discuss to Cindi Scrimgeour at cscrimgeour@gmail.com 
go to zoom.us.  In the upper right corner click on "Join a meeting."
Wednesday meeting: ID 474-316-522   PASSWORD 744170
Monday meeting:  ID 413315567   PASSWORD 75478
For advice on guiding children through living with COVID-19 click here.
 
Pledges – Our expenses continue even with our suspension of normal activity, but we are facing a significant shortfall in our income.  During this period, please mail your pledge to the parish office to the attention of the Treasurer.  It is most helpful if you are able to arrange with your bank for direct deposit. Trinity also has an account with tithe.ly; to learn how to use this app contact treasurer@trinitychurch.org. Some of you are facing financial stress: if so, please give what you can; if not, please give a bit extra to support those who cannot.

How to keep up with Trinity news: 
 All notices, videos, and links can be found at www.trinitychurchmilford.org
 
For the weekly announcements, click here 
 
The Worcester corridor churches are offering a virtual Easter Vigil on YouTube. Time: Apr 11, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
https://zoom.us/j/972935449?pwd=UTM5QnZuMllCTUp6cUFDMDdHQWxHQT09
Meeting ID: 972 935 449
Password: 024379
Dial by your location
        +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Our diocesan website offers links to online worship in our diocese.   
https://www.diocesewma.org/
 Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11:15 am. https://cathedral.org/
 
Our diocesan website offers links to online worship in our diocese.  https://www.diocesewma.org/
 
Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11 am. https://cathedral.org/

Rachel Carpenter will lead Digital Sunday School via ZOOM each Sunday at 10am.
Please contact Rachel for the link: rcarp76@gmail.com

As we set up our website and re-activate our Instagram account, we would like to post photos of all our members but we need your permission to do so.  Please click here for our Photo Permission Form, complete it, and return it.  An email to
office.trinitychurchmilford@gmail.org will meet this requirement as well.
 
For some suggestions on how to live during the Coronavirus pandemic click here.

Trinity GFS Scholarships are Available The deadline is just 2 weeks away!
Attention high school seniors and their families.   It’s time for the annual search for deserving recipients of the GFS Scholarships. Each year, Trinity gives monetary awards to qualified members who are entering an institution of higher education. These awards recognize attendance and service to Trinity Parish during the applicant's high school years. The application is available to download on the Trinity Church website at www.trinitychurchmilford.org .  Applications must be received by April 19th and the recipients will be notified shortly thereafter.  Please direct all questions to GFS Scholarship
Committee at gfs@trinitychurchmilford.org
 
Habits of Grace: An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry
As we learn how to adjust our lives given the reality of the coronavirus and the request to do our part to slow its spread by practicing physical distancing, I invite you to join me each week to take a moment to cultivate a ‘habit of grace.’ A new video meditation will be posted on Mondays through May.
 
For Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Word to the Church: On Our Theology of Worship, click here.

A Meditation for Palm Sunday
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 2:5]
Palm Sunday is a complicated day, as is reflected in its two names.  It is called “Palm Sunday” to commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem—celebrated in our Liturgy of the  Palms-- and it is also called “The Sunday of the Passion” to commemorate Jesus’ suffering and death—recounted in our solemn Gospel of the Passion, in which we acknowledge our own involvement in Jesus’ suffering. 
 
When Jesus told his followers they must lose their lives to follow him, he was not asking them to choose death or to submit passively to the tyrannical will of an unfeeling God. He was asking them to let go of what made their lives seem like dead-end roads-- their pride, their fear, their resentments—in order to—and this is crucial—in order to join him in responding to the suffering of others. He asked them to see, not to judge; to trust, not to condemn.  That is why we journey toward Jerusalem, and beyond Jerusalem to Gethsemane and Calvary and ultimately to the empty tomb.  It is not because we choose to suffer, but because we allow the Christ-in-us to reveal God in the suffering that would otherwise be meaningless. 
 
And so, as we begin Holy Week, let us have the courage to look carefully at the cross that is at the center of our lives. Let us walk with Jesus, not only for our own sakes, but so that no one--no one-- is alone.

A Prayer in the Time of the Coronavirus
Almighty and All–loving God, we pray to you through Christ the Healer for those who suffer from COVID–19 across the world. We pray for those who mourn and for those who face death alone. We pray for those who are facing financial hardship and the loss of the work that gave meaning to their lives. Give wisdom to policymakers, skill to healthcare professionals and researchers, comfort to everyone in distress and the grace to trust in you during these days of uncertainty. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who showed compassion to the outcast, acceptance to the rejected, and love to those to whom no love was shown. Amen.   
-From a prayer by Archbishop Michael Jackson, Dublin & Glendalough
 
Responding to the coronavirus pandemic at Trinity
The Parish Office is closed except for essential work. Per the governor’s order, public worship is suspended through May 3rd. Mother Judith is available by phone and email.  Videos of Mother Judith’s reflections are posted on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Videos of services for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday will be available on YouTube, Facebook, and our website.  Although we had planned to livestream these services, we discovered that it would be best to tape.  Many thanks to Ann Marie Lockwood, Jeff Lukas, Randy Bloom, Wayne Stochaj, and Peach Warren for making this possible. www.trinitychurchmilford.org

Our Palm Sunday service will include the Blessing of the Palms; the palms will then be covered and refrigerated until we can distribute them when we next gather for worship.

For a schedule of Holy Week services click see our home page for up-to-date information.

For Palm Sunday’s Leaflet click here.

Holy Communion at Home
For this holiest week of the church year, you are welcome to set aside bread or crackers to eat during the Holy Communion service on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Sunday.  We will be sharing what is called “spiritual communion,” and the bread will be a sign of the Christ-centered bond we share as a community of faith.
 
For suggestions on setting up a home altar for Holy Communion click here.
 
Zoom-Chats: Wednesday @8-8:30 pm [beginning April 8th]
& Mondays @ 7-7:30 am [beginning April 13th ]
As the days of “sheltering in place” stretch on, most of us have developed new ways of living and relating with each other, with varying degrees of success.  With a few weeks behind us and an uncertain number of weeks ahead of us, it is a good time to share questions and strategies for coping.  Three members of Trinity who are mental health professionals have offered to host “zoom chats” for adults (anyone over the age of 18).  Sarah Prevelige is a psychologist, Laurel Pirelli is a school psychologist, and Cindi Scrimgeour is a licensed Counselor; they work with families and individuals of all ages and they are themselves parents of teens and pre-teens.
 
These chats are designed to be a time for sharing stories about how we have adapted to a “new normal,” what has worked well and what has not. Specific topics for discussion will evolve depend on the interests of the group.  You are welcome to participate once or often.

​The first Wednesday meeting will be on April 8th, and the first Monday meeting will be on April 13th.  Sarah Prevelige will host the meeting via zoom.  Please send any questions you’d like to discuss to Cindi Scrimgeour at cscrimgeour@gmail.com 

For advice on guiding children through living with COVID-19 click here.
 
Pledges – Our expenses continue even with our suspension of normal activity, but we are facing a significant shortfall in our income.  During this period, please mail your pledge to the parish office to the attention of the Treasurer.  It is most helpful if you are able to arrange with your bank for direct deposit. Trinity also has an account with tithe.ly; to learn how to use this app contact treasurer@trinitychurch.org. Some of you are facing financial stress: if so, please give what you can; if not, please give a bit extra to support those who cannot.
 
Daily Prayer at Noon:  We join Christians throughout the world by pausing to say The Lord’s Prayer at noon each day.
 
How to keep up with Trinity news:  Our website is up and running!  All notices, videos, and links can be found here.

​The Worcester corridor churches are offering a virtual Easter Vigil on YouTube. Watch for more information.
 
Our diocesan website offers links to online worship in our diocese.  https://www.diocesewma.org/
 
Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11 am. https://cathedral.org/
 
For the weekly announcements, click here.
 
Rachel Carpenter will lead Digital Sunday School via ZOOM each Sunday at 10am.
Please contact Rachel for the link: rcarp76@gmail.com

As we set up our website and re-activate our Instagram account, we would like to post photos of all our members but we need your permission to do so.  Please click here for our Photo Permission Form, complete it, and return it.  An email to
office.trinitychurchmilford@gmail.org will meet this requirement as well.
 
For some suggestions on how to live during the Coronavirus pandemic click here.

Trinity GFS Scholarships are Available The deadline is just 2 weeks away!
Attention high school seniors and their families.   It’s time for the annual search for deserving recipients of the GFS Scholarships. Each year, Trinity gives monetary awards to qualified members who are entering an institution of higher education. These awards recognize attendance and service to Trinity Parish during the applicant's high school years. The application is available to download on the Trinity Church website at www.trinitychurchmilford.org .  Applications must be received by April 19th and the recipients will be notified shortly thereafter.  Please direct all questions to GFS Scholarship
Committee at gfs@trinitychurchmilford.org
 
Habits of Grace: An invitation for you, from Presiding Bishop Curry
As we learn how to adjust our lives given the reality of the coronavirus and the request to do our part to slow its spread by practicing physical distancing, I invite you to join me each week to take a moment to cultivate a ‘habit of grace.’ A new video meditation will be posted on Mondays through May.
 
For Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Word to the Church: On Our Theology of Worship, click here.

​A Meditation for Sunday: The Fifth Sunday in Lent
O my people I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live [Ezekiel 37:14]
This prophecy from Ezekiel is the background for the story in Sunday’s gospel of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  When Jesus calls to Lazarus, “Come out!” he echoes Ezekiel’s promise that God will bring forth life in the midst of death.  Ezekiel has a vision of a valley full of dry bones; Jesus faces a tomb filled with the stench of death. Both scenes of desolation are transformed by the act of the life-giving God that they—and we—proclaim.
And so today, too, we are called to see the breath of God bringing beauty and life to the desolation we face. We are called to remind each other of the infinite possibilities hidden in long days and distant friends, in our uncertainties and disappointments.  Our church community is the group that has promised to set each other free. We have promised to come out and to unbind each other:
            Not to make our troubles disappear.
            Not to fulfill a fantasy.
            Not to prove that we are right . . . or powerful . . . or invulnerable . . .
We come together in every way that we can, to make openings, to let in the light, to share hope.
God of compassion,
be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.
In their loneliness, be their consolation;
in their anxiety, be their hope;
in their darkness, be their light;
through him who suffered alone on the cross,
but reigns with you in glory,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen 
 
Responding to the coronavirus pandemic at Trinity
The Parish Office is closed except for essential work.  Mother Judith is available by phone and email.   Videos of Mother Judith’s reflections will be posted on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Click here for this week's video.
 
Pledges – Our expenses continue even with our suspension of normal activity, but we are facing a significant shortfall in our income.  During this period, please mail your pledge to the parish office to the attention of the Treasurer.  It is most helpful if you are able to arrange with your bank for direct deposit.  Some of you are facing financial stress:  If so, please give what you can; if not, please give a bit extra to support those who cannot.
 
Daily Prayer at Noon:  We join Christians throughout the world by pausing to say The Lord’s Prayer at noon each day.
 
How to keep up with Trinity news:  Your Technology Team is preparing the website to be ready very soon.  Our accounts with YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are now active.
Our diocesan website offers links to other Episcopal churches that are offering online worship.  Bishop Fisher offers Compline via ZOOM every evening at 8 pm. Click here.   
 
Worship from the National Cathedral is available online every Sunday at 11 am. Click here.
 
For a leaflet with the Collect, Scripture, and Prayers of the People for March 29th click here.
For the weekly announcements, click here.

Rachel Carpenter will lead Digital Sunday School via ZOOM each Sunday at 10am.  Please contact Rachel for the link: rcarp76@gmail.com
On Sunday March 22nd we learned how to let Jesus help push fear out of our hearts.  Here is a link to our lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUuY0MchpEQ
This week we are looking at what Jesus teaches about worry in Matthew 6:31-33
As part of our teaching, I want to emphasize the fact that we have to trust God to take care of our worries and that sometimes that means that we intentionally have to give them to Him and ask Him to help us.  It seems to work better with our children if they pray in a tactile way so we need something that involves a deliberate action of release.  What better than bubble wrap!!
Prayer Activity:   God loves you and wants to take care of you.  Tell God something you are worried about and ask Him to help you.  Burst one of the bubbles as a sign that you are giving your worry to God.   *****If you don't have bubble wrap, maybe make bubbles in the sink and pop a bubble with your finger as you tell God about your worry.
For a list of family activities for Lent click here.
For a copy of the Lent Calendar click here and here.
 
As we set up our website and re-activate our Instagram account, we would like to post photos of all our members but we need your permission to do so.  Please click here for our Photo Permission Form, complete it, and return it.  An email to
office.trinitychurchmilford@gmail.org will meet this requirement as well.
 
For some suggestions on how to live during the Coronavirus pandemic click here.
For the schedule of Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter livestreamed services click here. Our hope is that you will join these brief services via ZOOM.   Families will be able to share in communion with your own bread or crackers set aside for this purpose.  If possible, it will be yeast free (pita bread is ideal) but that is not necessary.  Watch for more information.

Easter Lily Memorial Forms
We will continue to accept donations for Easter flowers.  We will plan to have them at the altar for the Feast of Pentecost on May 31st. Please mail your donation to the Parish Office.

Pathway to a Better Life
Trinity will host the Winter Emergency Shelter on March 28 if the temperature feels like 30 or below and if volunteers are available, following the protocol of the Department of Public Health.  See Glenn Peterson if you are able to volunteer.
 
Trinity GFS Scholarships are Available!
Attention high school seniors and their families.   It’s time for the annual search for deserving recipients of the GFS Scholarships. Each year, Trinity gives monetary awards to qualified members who are entering an institution of higher education. These awards recognize attendance and service to Trinity Parish during the applicant's high school years. The application is available to download on the Trinity Church website at www.trinitychurchmilford.org .  Applications must be received by April 19th and the recipients will be notified shortly thereafter.  Please direct all questions to GFS Scholarship Committee at gfs@trinitychurchmilford.org
 
Click here to read Bishop Fisher’s pastoral message in response to Governor Baker’s Executive Order.
 
Click here to listen to a message from our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry regarding the corona virus.