Stewardship 2020: Rector's Preview

 

Dear Trinity Church and friends,

Grace and Peace and Tuesday greetings!  I hope this message finds you well following the holiday weekend.

With your calendars now marked for the two special Sundays I foreshadowed last week – 10/27, when our first worship service will begin at 8 a.m., followed by a Parish Breakfast at 9 a.m., an All Souls service with the praying of the Necrology at 10 a.m., Christian Formation for all ages at 11:15 a.m., a fuller All Souls Requiem at 6 p.m., and evening Formation at 7:30 p.m.; and 11/10, when the Rev. Austin K. Rios of Saint Paul’s within the Walls of Rome, Italy, will be our guest preacher at the morning services, and we will celebrate the ministry of Trinity Boston Connects and Louise Burnham Packard during the customary Forum hour – I write to you today with more about our Stewardship programming (and yes – believe it or not – there is more!).

 

Known and Loved Gatherings

During our Stewardship season, we will seek to know and to love one another more and better, and we have scheduled 17 small-group gatherings – 14 hosted by parishioners in their homes, and 3 hosted at the Rectory (233 Clarendon Street) by our Stewardship Committee. With options across greater Boston – from Beacon Hill to Hingham, Back Bay to Wellesley, Lexington to Roslindale, and all points between – we hope you will choose the event most convenient for you. The Lord and the MBTA willing, I will attend every one, and I look forward to deepening connections with you. Sign-ups are now available online here.

 

Brass-Tacks Forums

If the season’s preaching, parishioner reflections, and small-group events lean into our theme’s “Loving,” then our Sunday-morning Forums lean into its “Knowing.” With the exception of the aforementioned mornings, each Sunday will explore our congregation's revenues and commitments with candor and clarity:

10/20 • Annual Stewardship 2005-2019

11/03 • Endowments and Other Income

11/17 • Trinity Church Outreach & Justice Ministries

11/24 • 2019-2020 Budgets

I will facilitate these Forums within a common framework, while staff and parish leaders will deliver the content during each session.

 

Known and Loved Reflections and Tuesday Emails

This year, in lieu of “Stewardship Testimonials” delivered from the Eagle Lectern, the Stewardship Committee has invited parishioners to reflect in writing on their experience of being known and loved at Trinity Church. These reflections, teased by a short video clip, will be shared with the parish each Tuesday of the season, in an email formatted similarly to this message. While we might reprise the worship Testimonials during services in a future year, this fall’s format allows us to hear from couples and households, rather than from only an individual, and relieves presenters of any public-speaking anxieties – all while keeping our prayers moving and preserving the maximum amount of time for our Forums.

 

So, make plans to be in church this weekend when the season will finally begin! I am excited to preach all four services and consider with you how the Living Christ calls all of us to be generous toward God, the Church, and one another.

See you Sunday,

The Rev. Morgan S. Allen,

Rector