Weekly Email w/b 14th November 2022

As I took a stroll around Attingham Park the other day, I feasted my eyes on the wonderful colours of the many trees and leaves around me. Autumn is my favourite season of the year. Some trees were full of fiery red leaves, other were bright yellow, while every shade of green was there as well, and other trees had lost all their leaves in preparation for their new coat.

I always feel Autumn is a season of major changes. It reminds me that our own lives are full of seasons. Some seasons are vibrant, bursting with colours and energy, other seasons in our lives can be very pale green or even have no leaves at all. In times like the latter, we sometimes feel this season might last forever. It is usually tinted with pain, sadness, or anxiety.

In those seasons there are two things that I want to remind us. Firstly, God is always with us, whatever the season. We don’t go through these times alone. Secondly, these hard seasons will pass and new seasons with new colours, joys, and hopes will come. As it says in Ecclesiastes: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4).

Amal Moore (Pioneer Community Minister)

P.S. Read on for various autumnal snippets from leaf clearing to curry eating, as well as a really important reminder about 24-7 week of prayer which begins THIS SUNDAY.

Read our November / December Trinity Life online

 

First and foremost a reminder about 24-7 prayer week which begins this Sunday. We’ll be praying through seven days and nights for God’s light and love for our world, our community, our church and ourselves. These weeks can be a really important gift to everyone at Trinity. Scroll down to the next item for more.

Meanwhile we are really excited that this Sunday at the 11am service it is “Upside Down Church.” While Trinity Kids have a session in church with Louise Magowan on praying for one another, the rest of us will head to the Trinity Centre for various seminars including the “Practice of Prayer”, “Prayer and the Holy Spirit”, “Contemplative Prayer” and “Praying with children and young people”. Some of you may want to head outside to get practical and “plant a prayer”… in which case we would recommend a coat! We’ll be finishing in the usual way by sharing communion together.

At CTK we’re celebrating our 23rd birthday with brunch taking place before the 1030am service. I’m not sure whether birthday cake is on the menu, but please do join us for a celebration of what God has done, is doing, and will do in Radbrook Green. Keith and Amal will be hosting that gathering, whilst our speaker at the 9am service is Peter Madley. And in the evening service Judith Drury will be speaking on another of the “Questions Jesus Asked.” We meet from 6.15pm in the Trinity Centre for refreshments and time together.

From Sunday 20th November to Sunday 27th November we are offering a week-long opportunity to pray. For our nation and for our world. For our community and our church. For our families and ourselves.

During the day people will be praying in a dedicated prayer room set up in the Garden Room, upstairs in the Trinity Centre. There will be some beautiful and creative resources set up here, ranging from candles to pictures to quiet spaces. The room will be open for people to pray during the daytimes (8am till 9pm).

From 9pm to 8am people will be praying at home, unless previously arranged plans to be in the Trinity Centre. There is a simple resource section on the website which will fill with ideas and resources as the week goes on, as well as links to other ideas from 24-7 prayer.

How might you make use of this gift of time to pray? I know for many this might sound like a “chore” and a “burden”. But countless of us have found that an hour to be still – to savour the quiet, to enjoy the creativity of others and simply linger in God’s presence – is a welcome gift.

More details – and sign up – by clicking here

We are now six weeks or so into our Blessed to be a Blessing initiative. We’ve had some encouraging responses so far, and there was huge encouragement this week as PCC as we looked at some of the initial responses. We would really like people’s initial responses – offers of time, gifts and money – by Sunday 27th November, so if you have been thinking about “getting round to responding” then here’s your gentle reminder. You can do so on paper via the Church Office, or perhaps easier online at www.trinitychurches.org/blessed.

 

Blessed to be a Blessing Website

Advance notice of Sunday 20th November. As well as being Upside Down Church at the 11am service, you’ll also find some Advent gift-buying opportunities after the 9am and before/after the 11am gathering. Stalls will include the Windfall Project, Roy Rak jewellery from Thailand, Fair Trade, and Michael Carding’s book new book of poetry which is fundraising for three local charities. We’re not wanting to turn our morning worship in to a “den of thieves” etc, but you are invited to bring cash / card and whatever else if you want to leave church suitably equipped with some Advent or Christmas gifts.

The Tearfund Big Quiz Night takes place Saturday 26th November, 7pm in Radbrook Community Centre. Come along for an evening of fun and joy for young people and adults alike! Bring your own snacks* and drinks.

Tearfund is a Christian charity that partners with churches in more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries. They tackle poverty through sustainable development, responding to disasters, and challenging injustice. They believe an end to extreme poverty is possible.

More details – and sign up – by clicking here

Talking of autumn leaves, our annual Leaf Clearing Morning takes place on 26th November at 10am. Last year we had about thirty people of all ages come along and help, and everything got done quickly, efficiently and with a lot of fun! Could you join us this year? If you’ve got a wheelbarrow and ake you could bring with you that would be great. We’ll meet in the Churchyard. Speak to a warden or the Church Office for more details.

An Advent “Trinity Men” event at the Third Place in Frankwell for an eat-all-you-can buffet. You’ll find an array of delicious starters, main courses, sundries and desserts. They’ve even offered a ‘proper hot’ curry option for the vicar! We’ll finish around 10pm. Our guest speaker for the evening is Pat Aldred. When not cruising around the world Pat has many years experience as an army chaplain, and is currently based at Shrewsbury Abbey.

We’re asking people to book tickets and to pay online. Or you can phone the Church Office and pay in that way if easier.

More details – and sign up – by clicking here