During this Time:  Trinity in Stage 2:

• On the Sundays in October and November we will have an outdoor service of Holy Communion at 8 am, before our usual service of Morning Prayer on Zoom at 9 am.
• We do not plan to gather for indoor worship for the foreseeable future. Click here for details.
• Sunday School will be on Zoom for the foreseeable future. Children and youth from St. Matthew’s and the United Parish of Upton will join us beginning on October 11th. . 
•  We have begun reviewing our new Building Use Agreement with groups who wish to meet in our building. The Lane Chapel has been prepared for small-group meetings. Some groups are returning and some are choosing to continue to meet on Zoom.
•  We will serve free Grab-n-Go meals every Thursday and takeout meals prepared in our kitchen on the last Thursday of every month
• Abundant Care, Inc. will provide takeout Thanksgiving Dinner from Trinity this year. To contribute and help please contact Justin Varteresian, Dave Scott, or Marty Ploof

The church is open for private prayer while the office is open.  We expect all visitors to wipe down the pew where they have sat or knelt. 

How to keep up with Trinity news:  All notices, videos, and links can be found at www.trinitychurchmilford.org  and on the Trinity Church-Milford Facebook page.
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/
The Episcopal Church offers valuable resources for spiritual renewal.  https://episcopalchurch.org/
​

 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82256827302?pwd=Z0E3ZlpXY0hIRFdIZHN0ZnltdXNlZz09
Meeting ID: 822-5682-7302     Password: 546896
If you cannot access through your computer, you may participate by telephone.
Telephone: 929-205-6099
For the Morning Prayer leaflet, click here.  
For the Weekly Announcements click here.

Friday Bible Study & Discussion @ Noon - 
     Topic: Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel Women in the Bible.Week Two:
                Reading: Genesis  Chapters 24-31, 33, 49
For the outline & schedule, Click here.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87474952317?pwd=UkdpQTNuNmtxVkhtYlZkVGVDVkZOQT09
   ​Meeting ID: 874 7495 2317    Password: 097331

Sacred Ground:  A Film-Based Dialogue Series on Race & Faith 
Beginning NEXT Sunday: September 27 [5-6:30 pm] & Tuesday September 29 [7-8:30 pm]
For a copy of the schedule, click here.
Registration Deadline: THIS SUNDAY September 20
How to Register: Email either Mother Judith ([email protected]) or Mary Johnson ([email protected]) stating whether you are registering for the Sunday session (5-6:30 pm) or the Tuesday sessions (7-8:30)
The programs requires the purchase of 2 books:
     Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited         Beacon Press, 1949;1976    
      Debby Irving, Waking Up White         [2014; Elephant Room Press] 
 Mary Johnson and Mother Judith will lead the program for Trinity and our group will include members of other congregations. To learn more see https://episcopalchurch.org/sacred-ground. 

Responding to Wildfires in the Western United States
Episcopal Relief & Development continues to support Episcopal dioceses in western states as they assess needs created by the record-breaking wildfires. The fires have destroyed millions of acres of land, homes and property, causing evacuations in many areas and creating unhealthy air quality throughout several states.   Contributions to the US Disaster Response Fund will help provide support to people recovering from the wildfires and other natural disasters.

Community Dinners
We have received a grant from the Milford Community Health Network (CHNA) to distribute meals prepared at local restaurants every week, September through November. Please contact Glen Peterson or Mother Judith if you are able to volunteer.  We have been giving 70 meals each week.  We will prepare takeout meals in our kitchen on the last Thursday of every month beginning on September 24th.  We are seeking grant funding and donations to continue the program through next spring. To contribute to this project, please send your check payable to Trinity Church with Community Dinners on the memo line.

How to keep up with Trinity news:  All notices, videos, and links can be found at www.trinitychurchmilford.org  and on the Trinity Church-Milford Facebook page.
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/
The Episcopal Church offers valuable resources for spiritual renewal.  https://episcopalchurch.org/

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

e-blast Meditation for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Creation Season
September 13, 2020
 
Finally beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  [Philippians 4:8]
 
A saying by the Sufi poet Hafiz expresses well what we are learning during this Creation Season:  
     Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I’d like to see you in better living conditions.
By paying attention to the sacred order in the physical universe, as proclaimed in the opening lines of the Gospel of John that we read last week (In the beginning was the Word In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God), we will not cower in fear before the challenges of climate change and we will see more clearly the connections between environmental instability and social justice. We will recognize—anew—the times we have allowed others to live in fear by leaving them in “the cheapest room in the house.” We will pay attention to ways that Christ has disguised himself as he walks and lives and prays in our midst. 
  
On any given day, we are called upon to take a risk, perhaps to trust a God who has been silent in our lives, perhaps to trust someone who has not been reliable, perhaps to offer ourselves to someone who has not valued us. It is in taking this risk, remembering Christ is in our midst—disguised-- that we will move out of “the cheapest room in the house” and we will find the peace promised by Jesus.

   In the words of margaret Bullitt-Jones, Diocesan Missioner for Creeation Care:                               
 As for me, I draw strength from the living presence of Jesus Christ who is with us as we listen to Scripture, who comes to us as we sing and pray, whose love is poured into hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit, and who feeds and strengthens us when we stretch out our hands to receive the bread and wine of the Eucharist. Our fears can be strong, and the powers-that-be in this world are surely doing everything they can to stoke our fears of each other and to pull us apart, but Jesus’ words and presence convey bracing good news: we are infused and surrounded by a divine love that holds us together and that will never let us go. God loves us, and loves all Creation, with a love that nothing can destroy. As we breathe in that divine love and breathe it out in acts of healing and justice and compassion, our courage and strength are renewed.

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 
  MORNING PRAYER via ZOOM
Prayers for our Music Ministry

Ministers of the Liturgy
The Rev. Dr. Judith Lee
Members of our Choir:
Edla Ann Bloom, Randolph Bloom, Millie Williams,
Wayne Stochaj, Beth Stochaj, Mary Frances Best
Musicians:  Randolph Bloom, Jeff Lukas
 When in our music God is glorified, and adoration leaves no room for pride
It is as though the whole creation cried. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let every instrument be tuned for praise let all rejoice who have a voice to raise!
And may God give us faith to sing always. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82256827302?pwd=Z0E3ZlpXY0hIRFdIZHN0ZnltdXNlZz09
Meeting ID: 822-5682-7302     Password: 546896
If you cannot access through your computer, you may participate by telephone.
Telephone: 929-205-6099
For the Morning Prayer leaflet, click here.  
For the Weekly Announcements click here.

​A Message from Rachel Carpenter:
Sunday School will be on Zoom this year, at 9 am on Sundays.  Our first officiat day will be October 4th- when we will have a family service and Blessing of our Pets.  Watch for more information.

This Week: 
The office will be open for regular hours: Tuesday through Thursday 10am-2pm. 
Sunday 4 pm Canon Simpson meets with the Profile Committee on Zoom
Monday 7pm Vestry Meeting on Zoom
Friday noon - Bible Study & Discussion:  Women in the Bible on Zoom
Saturday 4:30 pm  Celebration & Blessing of a Marriage: Joan Brodeur & Matt Rich

-from A New Zealand Prayer Boo

New Rector Search: Next Steps:
September 20th – Discussion after the service about the results of the Holy Cow Survey and the Vestry meeting.
October-November The Profile committee will hold parish meetings via Zoom to discuss future plans for new ministry with your next Rector.
January The Profile Committee will present the Parish Profile to the Vestry for approval.
An updated timeline of the 3 "arcs" of the search process can be found on our website: https://www.trinitychurchmilford.org

Entering Stage 2:
We will re-open the church for private prayer in October.
Mother Judith is now reviewing our new Building Use Agreement with leaders of the community groups who have met in our building and we hope to resume our regular schedule of meetings by the end of September.
We will begin preparing take-out meals from our kitchen on the last Thursday of each month beginning on September 24th. 
We are making plans for outdoor worship.  Watch for more information.
Our parish Zoom Chats, Family Game Night, and Bingo will resume in October.

Wednesdays @ 10 am: Morning Prayer & Fellowship via ZOOM - We'll continue weekly
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83161138171?pwd=TitUUzdtRVhjZVFadjNZbFlxV1dhdz09
Meeting ID: 831 6113 8171  Password:   497792
Telephone: 929-205-6099

​Sacred Ground:
A Film-Based Dialogue Series on Race & Faith Beginning on September 26th
For a copy of the schedule click here.
Registration Deadline: September 20th
How to Register: Email either Mother Judith ([email protected]) or Mary Johnson (mary.johnson8@comcast.net) stating whether you are registering for the Sunday session (5-6:30 pm) or the Tuesday sessions (7-8:30)
The programs requires the purchase of 2 books:
      Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited   [Beacon Press, 1949;1976]
       Debby Irving, Waking Up White [2014; Elephant Room Press]
 Mary Johnson and Mother Judith will lead the program for Trinity and our group will include members of other congregations. To learn more see https://episcopalchurch.org/sacred-ground. 

​We have received a grant from the Milford Community Health Network (CHNA) to distribute meals prepared at local restaurants every week, September through November. Please contact Glen Peterson or Mother Judith if you are able to volunteer.
 We will prepare takeout meals in our kitchen on the last Thursday of every month beginning on September 24th.  We are seeking grant funding and donations to continue the program through next spring. To contribute to this project, please send your check payable to Trinity Church with Community Dinners on the memo line.

​Pledges: Thank you to all of you who have been sending in your pledges.  There has been a slight drop in our pledge income this month.  This is understandable for  the summer, but please do not let your contribution lapse. 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  and on the Trinity Church-Milford Facebook page.
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/
The Episcopal Church offers valuable resources for spiritual renewal.  https://episcopalchurch.org/
​

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

Meditation for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecos
Creation Season
Labor Day
Backpack Blessings
 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  [John 1:1]

Since early March we have been reminded every day that we share bonds with each other we may have ignored.  We have been reminded every day that we pose a potential threat to each other, that our very breathing the same air or touching the same surfaces may cause each other harm. We have learned to express our love by keeping our distance and smiling at each other with our eyes.  At the same time, we see churches around us opening for worship and we hear popular evangelical preachers proclaim that if we love and trust God we need not fear infection from the virus. To believe is to rebel against common sense and caution, they say.

So this year Creation Season can be particularly meaningful.   It begins with this passage from the Gospel of John proclaiming that God is present in the physical universe. Christ the Word is the incarnation of God.  The Word is the Logos, the inherent order in the breathtakingly complex, diverse, unpredictable—and sacred-- universe.  

This statement is the foundation for all that we do.  Each branch of Christianity places a different emphasis on the teachings of our tradition:  At the center of some is the exalted Christ, of others it is Jesus our brother; at the center of some is God’s judgement, of others God’s mercy; at the center of some is the individual relationship with God, of others it is the relationship expressed in community. At the center of the Anglican tradition is the Incarnate God manifested in love shared in community. 

These different approaches are not mutually exclusive, of course, but they help to explain our different approaches to matters of church and politics. Our caution against public worship is based upon our incarnational theology as taught in the Gospels:  Our social bonds are sacred because they reveal an Incarnate God; we live and act in solidarity with the most vulnerable because that is where God’s presence is often obscured; to love our enemies is to respect and guard against the dangers they pose; the Life we share will thrive only if we care for each other.

What came into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  Our Life begins and ends in being faithful to the vision of beauty, order, and vitality called forth by the opening lines of John’s Gospel.  Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, who founded the Greenbelt Movement in 1977, reminds us of the wonderful diversity of creatures with whom we share this Life:
We need to rediscover our common experience with other creatures on Earth, and recognize that we have gone through an evolutionary process with them.  They may not look like us, with their wings and scales and fur.  We may not like some; others like mosquitoes we may detest.  But they are part of the process of life beginning and being sustained on this planet.  An apt analogy is Noah in Genesis, who found a pair of each species and two by two placed them into his ark, mosquitoes and reptiles among them.  Noah was not commanded to pick only those that were useful to him; he shelter them all.  God recognize that they are part of us; they needed the chance to survive as well.  And in giving them this chance, God gave us a chance too.  Now we must give that chance back to ourselves, and replenish the earth.

quoted in God’s Good Earth, ed. Anne and Jeffrey Rowthorn, pp.332-333]

-from Prayers for an Inclusive Church

MORNING PRAYER via ZOOM
Ministers of the Liturgy
The Rev. Dr. Judith Lee
The Teachers in our Congregation:
Rachel Carpenter, Dave Clinkman, Katherine Côté, Pam Hennessy,
Pat Keppler, Ann Marie Lockwood, Leigh Martin, Brigid Mullen-Richards
Musicians:  Randolph Bloom, Jeff Lukas
 
People from every corner of creation, celebrate with all creatures on earth!
Young and old across the planet, rejoice in the day that God has made.

 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82256827302?pwd=Z0E3ZlpXY0hIRFdIZHN0ZnltdXNlZz09
Meeting ID: 822-5682-7302     Password: 546896
If you cannot access through your computer, you may participate by telephone.
Telephone: 929-205-6099
For the Morning Prayer leaflet, click here.  
For the Weekly Announcements click here.

​​A Message from Rachel Carpenter:
This week we will meet at the church parking lot for our Backpack Blessing.  
Family activities will be posted on our website on the Sundays in September. We will return to virtual Sunday School on October 4th with Blessing of our pets:   Sunday School will be virtual for the foreseeable future. 

This Week: 
The office will be closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day. We will resume regular office hours beginning on Tuesday. Magee will be in the office on Tuesday through Thursday 10am-2pm. 

Friday September 11th 12:30 ROMEOs on Zoom. Pleace contact Dave Clinkman.  Here is the link: tttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83952173496?pwd=SGowSDFaanpMOFFOK3RtTDNkdE51dz09
Meeting ID: 839-5217-3496   Password: 700828  Phone: 929-205-6099

Saturday September 12th :
9am – noon on Zoom: Canon Simpson will meet with the Vestry, Search, and Profile Committees to review the results of the CAT Holy Cow survey
4:30 pm Celebration and Blessing of the Marriage of Joan Frances Brodeur & Matthew James Rich.  Joan’s and Matt’s family will be in attendance for this brief ceremony at the church

-from A New Zealand Prayer Book​

​New Rector Search: Next Steps:
Saturday September 12th - Canon Simpson will meet with the Search Committee, the Profile Committee, and the Vestry on o review the survey results. 
September 20th – Discussion after the service about the results of the Holy Cow Survey and the Vestry meeting.
October-November The Profile committee will hold parish meetings via Zoom to discuss future plans for new ministry with your next Rector.
January The Profile Committee will present the Parish Profile to the Vestry for approval.
An updated timeline of the 2 "arcs" of the search process can be found on our website: https://www.trinitychurchmilford.org
 
Thank you to everyone who participated in the parish meetings in June.  For a summary of those conversations, including a summary of the Youth conversations, click here.
May God continue to inspire us, bless us, and guide us

Entering Stage 2:
We will re-open the office for regular hours on Tuesday.
We will re-open the church for private prayer during the week of September 20th.
Mother Judith is now reviewing our new Building Use Agreement with leaders of the community groups who have met in our building and we hope to resume our regular schedule of meetings by the end of September.

The Public Health Inspector visited our kitchen and advised us on the protocols necessary to prepare takeout meals for our neighbors.  The Vestry has approved a a proposal to resume preparing Community Meals in our kitchen on the last Thursday of September, and we are awaiting the Diocesan Peer Review.
 
Our parish Zoom Chats, Family Game Night, and Bingo will resume in October in order to give all of us a chance to settle  in to the new school year.

Wednesdays @ 10 am: Morning Prayer & Fellowship via ZOOM - We'll continue weekly
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83161138171?pwd=TitUUzdtRVhjZVFadjNZbFlxV1dhdz09
Meeting ID: 831 6113 8171  Password:   497792
Telephone: 929-205-6099

​Friday Bible Study & Discussion @ Noon - Begins September 18th.
Our topic will be Women in the Bible. Click here for the outline & schedule

​Sacred Ground:
A Film-Based Dialogue Series on Race & Faith Beginning on September 26th
For a copy of the schedule click here.
Registration Deadline: September 20th
How to Register: Email either Mother Judith ([email protected]) or Mary Johnson (mary.johnson8@comcast.net) stating whether you are registering for the Sunday session (5-6:30 pm) or the Tuesday sessions (7-8:30) –The schedule is listed below.  You will be sent a password that will give you access to the online videos and reading materials.
The programs requires the purchase of 2 books:
      Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited   [Beacon Press, 1949;1976]
       Debby Irving, Waking Up White [2014; Elephant Room Press]
 We have scheduled the first 5 sessions: we will hold two opportunities for each session every other week:  Sundays at 5 pm and Tuesdays at 7 pm, September 26th – November 24th . Mary Johnson and Mother Judith will lead the program for Trinity and our group will include emembers of other congregations. To learn more see https://episcopalchurch.org/sacred-ground. 

​We have received a grant from the Milford Community Health Network (CHNA) to distribute meals prepared at local restaurants every week, September through November. Please contact Glen Peterson or Mother Judith if you are able to volunteer.
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. 

​Pledges: Thank you to all of you who have been sending in your pledges.  There has been a slight drop in our pledge income this month.  This is understandable for  the summer, but please do not let your contribution lapse. 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  and on the Trinity Church-Milford Facebook page.
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/
The Episcopal Church offers valuable resources for spiritual renewal.  https://episcopalchurch.org/

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