GOSPEL AND GROWTH
Team members are Mary Braudrick, Tam Robinson, and Penelope Smith
PRE-COVID19
January – The movies chosen for the Midwinter Movies are: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”, “Hidden Figures”, “The Lion Woman”, “Emanuel”, “West Wing Season 3, Episode 1 – Isaac and Ishmael”, “The Upside”, and “Ferdinand”. Movies were viewed at Tami and Penelope’s homes. The average attendance was about 12 people. Penelope introduced the “Invitational Tool Box” at the annual meeting. This is a resource helps us find ways to include family and friends in all church activities.
February – We organized a “Drop in and Pray” event for February 19, 2020 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. We had scheduled prayer time for the first 60 minutes and the remainder of the time was open to anyone. We saw members and non-members alike attend. We had a handout for participants with the weekly scriptures plus information about Lenten and Holy Week services. The theme will be “Open My Life, Lord” for the mid-week services.
AFTER THE COVID SHUTDOWN
March – We began a time of change and learning to be flexible. How do we stay connected in a time of social distancing? We are recognizing the need to cancel in-person worship and the Lenten soup suppers. We are moving forward with caution in planning the Church Campout, a summer movie, and a Birthday Potluck in October!
April – We discussed ways to adapt the Invitational Toolbox to work with our new limitations. We added some new activities such as sending cards, making calls and texts. We will give Sharon Jones copies for the friendship bags. We scheduled a possible summer movie (Little Women) for June 17th. More discussion on a birthday potluck and beginning discussion on the Advent Daily Devotional Booklet.
May – Many people are responding to the need for communication with our members who are isolated. They are doing backyard beverage gatherings with 1 or 2 people and proper distancing, drive-way visits, zoom gatherings, and creating limited groupings for safety. During May and June, we will be contacting our previous Advent Devotional authors and some potential new ones. The camp-out is still on the calendar with some doubts. How do you keep the six feet away from each other?
June – We continue to discuss ways to stay connected. Kim Mills may host a Beer & Hymns Gathering in her back yard. The women’s lunch may meet on the church lawn with a BYO sack lunch since potlucks are being discouraged. We are encouraging people to meet in small groups outdoors. These gatherings allow for deeper conversations than phone calls or zoom meetings. Trinity is having a Week of Prayer Event beginning June 7th. We will let the council make the decision about having the camp-out as scheduled. The birthday potluck is still on the calendar.
July – The Mills are hosting Beer & Hymns in their backyard on July 19th and will have a guitarist. There will be safety guidelines in place. Home Communion teams have volunteered to do outdoor communion with homebound (not in care facilities) members or those who do not have access to the internet. The women’s lunch will be on July 28, on the church lawn. The younger kids will have an “at home VBS” called Compassion Camp. The Church Campout was canceled.
August – We met in-person outside on the church lawn. It was great to be together without Zoom. Home Communion and Compassion Camp are still going on. The Beer & Hymns was a success with only a couple of hiccups. A Lament Service was held outdoors on August 26th. It was well attended, and everyone seated themselves at a safe distance from one another and wore masks. There were also 30 views on YouTube! The Birthday Potluck is being revamped to be an outdoor event with a BYO meal. Conversations after the meal will be jump started by talking about ways to still celebrate the upcoming holidays while still recognizing the pandemic.
September – The Advent Devotional is in progress. We have received our first submission from Sarah Henthorn! The deadline is October 15th. Pastor Meggan plans to read the devotions on Facebook live during Advent. We are looking at ways to hold the Mid-Winter Movies. We cannot have it in our homes due to space limitations. We are researching comedies because we all need a good laugh! As a way of staying connected a work party is being organized to clean up a senior’s yard.
October – We held the Meal Gathering on October 14th. After the discussion on ways to celebrate holidays we played a couple of games of Covid Bingo. Some prizes were Equal Exchange coffee and chocolate, sanitizer, and cloth masks. We had a good time. We discussed some new ideas for the Advent Devotional and how to get them distributed to the congregation. Pastor will be video taping some of our favorite soup makers as they prepare a soup that would have been shared at a soup supper! We will be helping in the printing of business cards for members to give to friends and neighbors that highlight ways to connect with Trinity. Those will be mailed to each family.
November – We have printed and distributed about 125 copies this year. Mary & Penelope put together the last 25 so there would be some for the food boxes again this year. We talked about the Gospel & Growth Committee description in our By-laws and decided it needed to be updated. We drafted the changes and proposed it to the Church Council at the November meeting. They approved the change, and it will be presented to the congregation at the Annual Meeting for ratification. We are postponing the Mid-Winter Movies until the virus situation improves. We do not have any idea when that will be.
We are not meeting in December. Our next meeting will be January 14th, 2021 at 2:00 pm. Tami Robinson
MUTUAL MINISTRY
The Mutual Ministry Committee meets with Pastor Meggan to share concerns that may arise within the congregation in a safe and confidential environment. We also discuss the ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church, including committee work and goals or concerns that arise. Due to the added stresses of the pandemic, the mutual ministry committee met more frequently in 2020. The committee provided feedback as the congregation experimented with new technologies and engaged in community in new ways. The committee also advocates for Pastor’s well-being and continues to support her as she finished her dissertation this year. Members of the committee in 2020 were: Tammy Torrey, Sharon Jones, Steve Ward, and Vice President Sarah Henthorn.
A Place at the Table 