Staff Pick! Book Recommendation from Rev. Linda Marshall

The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall

Order here

The reading of a will following the death of a loved one can produce lots of emotion. In the book The Ultimate Gift, young adult Jason appears in the lawyer's office for the reading of the will from his great-uncle's massive fortune. Surprised, Jason discovers that in order to learn of his monetary inheritance, he was required to perform twelve specific tasks over the next year. Jason's journey takes him and the reader on a journey of discovery. Jason discovers gifts that are ultimately far more valuable than money...gifts that are reflected in the life and teachings of Jesus...gifts that contribute to a life filled with love, laughter, dreams, friends and gratitude. This book was the inspiration for the major motion picture of the same name starting James Garner and Abigail Breslin. This is an enjoyable and thought-provoking book and movie, which I highly recommend.

Trinity Event Recap - Habitat Soup Cook-Off Dinner

Habitat Interfaith Alliance's Annual Soup Cook-Off Dinner is always a big hit with Trinity members. This year a large group gathered on January 31 to taste lots of soups and support HIA's 2015 home build.

Pastor Mike and Rev. Miriam served as judges for the event. Tough job!

Being the entertainment was a tall order.

Trinity member table

Trinity member table

Trinity members Grace Rampacek and Julie Mueller were two of the winners of the evening! Look for their outstanding recipes in the April/May Trinity Vine.

Trinity Event Recap - "Selma" Discussion

Trinity has recently hosted a number of special events:

January 25 - "Selma" Discussion

Over 100 gathered for a dialogue about the movie "Selma" and what it means for race relations today. The discussion was led by Trinity's Young Adults coordinator Jasper Peters and his father Rev. James Peters, who was friends with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and participated in the events in Selma 50 years ago.

Staff Pick Book Recommendation: "On This Spirit Walk"

On This Spirit Walk: The Voices of Native American and Indigenous Peoples
By Henrietta Mann and Anita Phillips

Recommendation by Rev. Miriam Slejko, Minister of Discipleship at Trinity

Maybe you are like me and, as a newcomer to Colorado, now 26 years a resident, have a desire to learn more of the history of this area and its indigenous people. So when Dr. Henrietta Mann spoke at our Rocky Mountain Annual Conference last June, I was fascinated by her stories of the history of her people, the Cheyenne.

Henrietta Mann is Professor Emeritus in Native American Studies at Montana State University. In 1991 Rolling Stone Magazine named her one of the top ten professors in the nation. In On This Spirit Walk, which she co-authored with Anita Phillips, a member of the Cherokees from Park Hill, Oklahoma, Mann shares the stories from her culture about traditions of welcoming and naming, stories of creation and genesis, and stories of vision and prophecy.

On This Spirit Walk is not only a selection of stories from the histories of native peoples, it is a vivid portrayal of these storytellers who "do not choose to be storytellers" but "are chosen to be the Keepers of Living Stories. With our breath, we give life to the stories and they take flight." These stories include reflections by native people on recent efforts by the United Methodist Church's General Conference of 2012 to engage in an Act of Repentance including confession, repentance and forgiveness for the manner in which religious ideas were forced upon native peoples.

If you are a storyteller, story writer or a person who is interested in the spiritual walk of peoples of other cultures, you will enjoy this informative and stimulating history. On This Spirit Walk reminds me that we all benefit from sharing stories from our history. "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience." (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)


Order online: http://www.amazon.com/On-This-Spirit-Walk-Indigenous/dp/1426758413

Staff Pick Book Recommendation

From Wayne Brown, Director of Adult and Family Formation

The Hungering Dark, by Frederick Buechner (Seabury Press, 1969)

Link to order online: http://www.tatteredcover.com/book/9780060611750

In 1979, when I was a student at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, I literally stumbled on my first Frederick Buechner book at the annual book sale in the library courtyard. In the midst of the book-buying chaos, the book was bumped from its perch on one of the tables, and onto my tanned and sandaled California beach toes. The book was The Hungering Dark, and my foot (and, eventually, my mind and spirit) were never so painfully grateful.

In The Hungering Dark, Buechner (pronounced BEEK-ner), draws on texts from both Old and New Testaments to help us encounter the gracious, sometimes hidden face of God in refreshingly honest ways. 

One sample from chapter 2, Confusion of Face: “The voyage into the self is long and dark and full of peril, but I believe that it is a voyage that all of us will have to make before we are through. Either we climb down into the abyss willingly with our eyes open, or we risk falling into it with our eyes closed.”

Author, Professor, Pulitzer Prize nominee, Poet, Philosopher, and lover of Christ: Frederick Bueckner. Read Him. You’ll be grateful from your head to your toes. Also, for a more personal sense of this extraordinary man, view Walter Brueggemannʼs interview with Buechner here: http://www.frederickbuechner.com/content/walter-brueggemann-interviews-frederick-buechner

Enjoy!

Trinity Touring the Town

Trinity members were treated to two walking tours on Sunday, August 17:


As part of the summer Adult Forums, a group of Trinity members traveled to the Globeville neighborhood where Habitat for Humanity has built, repaired or renovated a number of homes in an effort to revitalize the area.

Then, following the 11 a.m. worship service, a group of 25 joined Lynn Willcockson and Tom Noel (aka Dr. Colorado) for a history presentation and tour of Trinity's past locations.

Welcoming Cristina Muldoon, our New Director of Children's Ministries

We are thrilled to have Cristina Muldoon as Trinity's new Director of Children's Ministries! She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, holding a degree in Religion and Philosophy from Tulane University and a M.A. in Religious Studies from Yale University. Since moving to Denver in 2005, she founded Sloan Tutoring, taught at Kent School, and worked in the Center for Academic Support at Johnson & Wales University. Cristina joined the Trinity staff "officially" on July 1, but she jumped in early to get her feet wet under the tutelage of Kathy Gibb and assist with the largest Children's Ministry event of the year - Vacation Bible School.

There is never a dull moment during VBS week, and Cristina has shared a recap of the festivities. What a week it was!

This way my first Trinity Vacation Bible School experience, and I was truly a rookie; I never attended VBS as a kid, and I had never worked in a VBS program before. One in-service meeting later, though, and I was assigned to be a crew leader! I was excited to learn the ropes from Kathy Gibb and her amazing VBS team. My VBS group, the Rachel Rays, (the kids were assigned to age-appropriate groups, and “The Chefs” were mostly second and third graders) were Trinity experts. I was lucky enough to have both Marleigh Cummins (daughter of Angie Cummins) and Reagan Scheminske (daughter of Sharon and Erick Scheminske) to help show me the ropes and teach me the Agadoo dance (Linda Marshall is also an Agadoo expert if anyone would like a lesson).

     There were many moments during VBS week that I felt very lucky to be a part of: Clara Rutledge going door to door to raise money for the Habitat for Humanity mission; the surprise and pleasure on the faces of the Habitat for Humanity staff when we presented them with the flowerpots our kids had made to welcome our five families to their new homes; learning that our eggshell crosses were made using eggshells from our youth group’s burrito breakfasts (a great example of our Trinity family working together!), and the great joy our kids brought to the congregation when they sang our VBS songs during service.   

     I had a great time and was so impressed by the dedication of all the VBS volunteers. Running a week long camp for more than 100 children is a massive undertaking and it could not have happened without the incredibly hard work of many people. I want to give particular thanks to Andrea Evashevski and Aubrey Monckton for the innumerable hours they spent organizing, planning, and participating in VBS. I should mention, too, that Aubrey makes a very convincing Queen Esther. Special thanks is also due to Julie Belcher and Jan Wywrot for running the Science room (and teaching the kids to make truly delicious mustard, among other things); Betty Shropshire and Ariana Martinez for their work in the craft room; Liz Rodriguez for making Rivet, the VBS mascot/puppet, come alive for the kids; Erin Johnson and Abbey Watkins for taking charge of the outdoor games; and Nelisha Firestone and Linda Marshall for their work to prepare the kids for their music performance on VBS Sunday. The heroic behind the scenes efforts of the endlessly creative and talented Allison Watkins made the week possible. The list of the crew leaders and other volunteers (including many members of Trinity’s youth group who did a fantastic job) without whom VBS would not have been a success would go on and on, and I was so appreciative of everyone’s help. Of course, 2014 VBS would not have happened at all without Kathy Gibb; her devotion to making Trinity a welcoming and joyful place for children is something I will work very hard to emulate.