Steeplecock News Excerpts

May 2008

Warrant
To the voting members of
Trinity Church,
Waltham, Massachusetts:

At the request of The Church Committee of Trinity Church, The Standing
Committee is calling a special Congregational Meeting to be held in the sanctuary on
Sunday, May 25th, 2008, immediately following the Service of Morning Worship for the
sole purpose of designating

Deacon Alien Batchelder as
"Ordained Deacon and Administrator of the Sacraments."

Joan D. Poirier, Clerk
22 April 2008

The practice of ordaining certain deacons, &s well as some other leaders of the church, originates in the early church when local congregations designated and elected their church leaders. Authority for this action came from the discernment of the Will of God revealed in and through the action of His Holy Spirit who was and is Christ's gift of His spiritual presence to His church. This practice has been a part of all church practice throughout the ages, but especially emphasized in the congregational church since its inception at the time of the Great Protestant Reformation.

Trinity Church's Church Committee, (the Church Committee being comprised of the Deaconate plus the Pastor) voted unanimously to designate and elect Deacon Alien Batchelder as "Ordained Deacon and Administrator of the Sacraments" at the meeting held on April 15th, 2008. On April 22nd, 2008, The Church Committee requested The Standing Committee to approve their action and to call a special congregation meeting to seek the affirmation of the entire congregation. The Standing Committee voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

The title, "Ordained Deacon and Administrator of the Sacraments" identifies the powers of the office. Specifically, this designation allows for the full institution and administration of the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. The practical application permits the "Ordained Deacon and Administrator of the Sacraments" to do so in the case of the absence of the or a Pastor and to assist the Pastor in both cases.

As all of you know, Alien Batchelder had demonstrated his faithfulness to Christ and to this part of Christ's universal church, Trinity Church in Waltham. He adheres to sound doctrine, serves in various capacities as a faithful member and officer of the church, gives of himself unreservedly in terms of his time, talent and treasure and believes in the Holy Scriptures as the witness to God's saving work in history fully accomplished in Jesus Christ. Alien has further demonstrated his ability to faithfully preach the Holy Word and lead our services of Holy Worship.

Ordination to any ministry within the church comes from the discernment of the action of the Holy Spirit on the part of the faithful. We believe that the Holy Spirit has called Alien to this ministry and further called this congregation to recognize his vocation.

The tentative date for ordination, should the congregation approve, is The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, 28 September 2008 during the Service of Morning Worship.

We seek unanimous approval. Since some members may not be able to attend the meeting, we have provided an absentee ballot. Simply submit the signed ballot to the church office or to any officer of the church so your vote will be counted.

Faithfully,
JHC

STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING
The Stewardship Committee met at church on Tuesday, April 1, 2008. We invited Stefanos Loizou to come to our meeting. He is the financial advisor for our church.

This was a most interesting meeting as he informed us of the many avenues for charitable giving, and planned giving. This is a way for our church to benefit financially from our members who perhaps could give gifts that would benefit themselves, their families, and our church.

We are going to put together a pamphlet that we will mail out to the membership and friends of the church with regard to these options.

We would like to have a luncheon in the future and Stef has offered to come and speak to us regarding, revocable gifts, life insurance, IRA/401K (retirement asset gifting), charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and lending a life.

The information that he gave us was amazing how to get 40% to equal 200%!!! So watch for our next mailing, and then when we have a date set for a luncheon plan to come!

Priscilla Thayer, Chairperson
Alien Batchelder
J. Howard Cepelak
Joan Poirier
Scott Shea
Bob Thayer

Making the Best of Family Relationships
For most of us, there's something both wonderful and worrisome about large family gatherings. On the good side, we often can experience real pleasure in spending time with relatives with whom we have so many common memories of people and events.

What's more, being with parents, siblings, and cousins who've known us since childhood often helps us see ourselves more clearly, without pretensions or illusions of self-importance.

Finally, shared family history and the ties of blood and marriage can create a tribal sense of identity and belonging that is comforting. .

Yet few families avoid the rifts and feuds caused by unpaid loans, unreturned favors, unfulfilled requests for help, broken promises and, most of all, careless or cruel comments or gossip. Although we think we should love everyone in our family, we often don't. In fact, many of us have to struggle against the wisdom of the old adage; "familiarity breeds contempt."

But in a world so filled with throwaway and transitory relationships, we should more highly prize the stability and strength of family ties. In dealing with family, we have a -greater, not a lesser, obligation to avoid unkind, insensitive, and hurtful remarks that can spawn resentments and grudges. We need to monitor the tendency to feel competitive or envious and, instead, take real pride and pleasure in the success of any family member.

Some of your most enduring and endearing friendships will come from your family.

Michael Josephson

Missions Segment
Trinity Church has the privilege, obligation and opportunity to support missions, both individually and as a Church. As a Church, we currently participate in Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritans Purse. There are many other ways that we can serve God, and also give back to Him by supporting missions.

I personally support on a monthly rotating basis three missions: Paul and Barbara Thomas (affiliated with Wycliffe Bible Translators), Moody Bible Institute, and Erick and Elizabeth Schenkel (affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ), currently serving in the Middle East.

As a Member, a Trustee and Deacon, I presented to the Church Committee information about the missions I support. At the request of the Church Committee in an effort have a better understanding of missions and possibly supporting them as a Church, I have asked Paul and Barbara Thomas to visit Trinity Church. They will be in the Boston area from June 6 through 13, and Barbara will be attending an Association of Christian Libraries Conference in Quincy, from June 9 to 12.

Paul and Barbara, missionaries with Wycliffe, spent 10 years in Zaire (currently the Democratic Republic of Congo) translating the New Testament into the Komo language. Barbara currently works as a librarian for the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics (GIAL) located in Dallas, Texas. GIAL is an institution having an academic partnership with Wycliffe for linguistic training. Paul teaches Language and Culture Acquisition courses, Language and Culture Learning courses, and Managers and Directors Orientation Courses. During July and August 2007, Paul was asked to teach the Language and Culture Acquisition (LACA) course in Manila, Philippines. Paul taught (LACA) to a class of 10 students of four different nationalities. While in the Philippines, Barbara worked in two libraries that support Bible translation.

I've asked that this be included in Steeplecock News so you can appreciate how some missions support people and cultures throughout the world. These are ones I support but there are many others also in need of our support."
Submitted by Monica Strickland

Women's Association Annual Meeting and Luncheon
The Women's Association Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 22nd at church starting at 11:00 am. After the meeting the women will leave for their noon luncheon at Grassfield' s Restaurant in Waltham. Mark your calendars if you are a member.

Thanks
On Saturday evening, April 26th, 2008 Trinity Church held their second Gala Art Auction.

My heartfelt thanks go to everyone who helped out at the auction...Priscilla Thayer for her help with the wine and cheese, and for the donation of the wine and other beverages. Donna Grimes for her donation of cheese and crackers, Betina Dalton for her help in the kitchen, Dana Frisbee, Bob Rhodes, Dennis Bernhardt, and Jay Bailey for their help setting up the room. Dennis Bernhardt and Doris Rhodes who sold tickets for our 50:50 raffle which helped towards our bottom line.

Our ticket sellers, Doris Rhodes, Dennis Bernhardt, Monica Strickland, Priscilla and Bob Thayer, Mark Rosolko, Bob Rhodes, Dr. Bill Bailey, Pauline Barile, and Dana Frisbee.

Thanks to Monica Strickland and Alien Batchelder for their assistance at the bidder's tally table, and to Debbie and Rich Seale for their help with the background music and helping out at the Registration Table.

Thank you to the gentlemen who assisted in moving the artwork around the room for the auctioneer, Paul Baril, Dennis Bernhardt and Jay Bailey (a.k.a, Vanna), and also to the gentlemen who disassembled the room after the auction, including Bob Thayer, Dana Frisbee, Bob Rhodes.

There were hundreds of other tasks that were done, but, if I missed naming anyone personally, I am truly sorry, but, my thanks are no less sincere.

Also, thanks for all who took time out of their busy schedules to attend and purchased art work for their homes. I hope you had a good time.

Mayor Jeannette McCarthy even made an appearance, and is now the proud owner of a photograph of our beautiful sanctuary.

We raised nearly $1,100.00 for the church. Unfortunately, not as much as last year, but a healthy sum of money; a total for which we can be proud.
Betsy Bailey

My Last Thanks to the Cleaning Crew
On Wednesday, April 16, 2008, Pauline Baril, Carol Hallowell, Bob Nelson, Lois Olson, Barbara Rosolko, Peggy Towne all met at church for our last Spring cleaning session.

Bob took the ladder and went outside to wash exterior windows as well as a few inside. Some of the gals did interior windows on the second floor and on the way down the back stairs. Some us cleaned and washed the children's furniture in the nursery upstairs and scrubbed the carpet.

I think the cleaning session probably showed the most of any of our work.

Thanks to you all for a great job! I was going to try to figure out how many man-hours we put in during our 6 weeks of cleaning, but frankly, I was TOO TIRED!!!
Priscilla Thayer

Office Administrator Segment
Thought for the Month

"The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement."
Author unknown

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Trinity Church
of Waltham