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Beloved ones, let us walk – process – together into Lent this first Sunday of Lent with The Great Litany. The Episcopal Church tells us of the history of this ancient prayer. It is:
“an intercessory prayer including various petitions that are said or sung by the leader, with fixed responses by the congregation. It was used as early as the fifth century in Rome. The Litany was the first English language rite prepared by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. It was first published in 1544. Cranmer modified an earlier litany form by consolidating certain groups of petitions into single prayers with response. The Litany’s use in church processions was ordered by Henry VIII when England was at war with Scotland and France.” https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/great-litany-the/ You will find the Litany on page 148 in your Book of Common Prayer. (If you don’t have one at home, I will give you one!) The Choir and Clergy will process around the Sanctuary while the Litany is chanted. We invite you, if you wish, to ‘fall in’ and process a turn around the Sanctuary with us, returning to your seat as the prayer concludes. (Directions will be given in the Welcome.)
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Beloved Ones,
Please pray with us on Sunday, February 27th as the season of Epiphany concludes with Christ’s Transfiguration on the mountaintop. As we follow with great concern the news from Ukraine, it is so important to be together, to pray in community. Let us raise our hearts and minds and souls together to God with prayers for peace. Transfiguration, a moment of glory, is also the prelude to the cross, as we look forward to Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. The Collect for Transfiguration Sunday prays: “O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” As COVID numbers continue to decline around us, we do invite you to return to the Sanctuary according to your own comfort. Also, join us on Wednesday, March 2nd at 6:30 PM for the Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist - as our Choir also rejoins us following a time of hiatus. Again, the Collect of the day: “Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” We will invite those praying with us virtually to make their own sign of penitence, while those in the Sanctuary will receive ashes with these words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Remember also that God loves us, every step of the way on this journey from the mountaintop to Jerusalem, from glory to the cross. Faithfully, Rev. Andrea Exciting News! Trinity Church families gathered with Rev. Andrea on February 9th to approve a Job Description for a part-time Children’s Ministry Coordinator. We plan to publicly post that position soon and begin receiving applications.
We believe the Holy Spirit is active among us, and we hope and pray God will send us candidates soon. Depending on the timing of interviews, we hope to add this person to our team this spring. We remain in a time of experimentation, adaptation, and flexibility – and hope to offer something at our 9:30 service and also perhaps at our 11:15 Chapel in the Garden service … after the snow melts! Please pray for this time of discernment, and please contact Rev. Andrea if you would like to be part of our Children’s Ministry Team. awyatt@trinitynewtownct.org It is healing to enter a peaceful space to remember and reflect. As the anxiety and disruption of pandemic continue, we offer a time of quiet and beauty. Members of Trinity Church warmly invite you into our Sanctuary on Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Wander in, between 4:00 – 5:30 PM. We welcome you to an ‘open house’ in our lovely, historic house of prayer. This is not a formal service; just stop in. We invite you to these possibilities:
Contact Trinity Church (203-426-9070 or trinity@trinitynewtownct.org) with questions. All Saints Day
On Sunday, November 7th, 2021, we will celebrate All Saints Day. At Trinity Church, we will remember the Saints of Christian history – and of our own lives. We will acknowledge the witness, the presence of the communion of Saints. We will feel the love of a ‘Cloud of Witnesses’ who are always with us. We have 2 invitations for you!!
The Collect from the Book of Common Prayer for All Saints Day names the ‘mystical body’ of the Church, the body of Christ: “Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.” All Saints Day is a mystical day, when the veil between this life and the next is more transparent: we glimpse eternity. Help us make this a personal and beautiful celebration. The Great Pumpkin Challenge was founded by Mackenzie Page when she was in eighth grade at the Newtown Middle School in 2011; she was inspired to support her friend, Zoe McMorran, who was diagnosed with brain cancer. She challenged residents to carve a pumpkin and drop it off for display at her family’s Main Street home with a suggested $5 donation for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a summer camp serving children and families with cancer and other serious illnesses.
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp was founded in 1988 by Paul Newman, with one simple premise in mind, that every child no matter their illness could experience the transformational spirit and friendships that go hand in hand with camp. The camp provides “a different kind of healing” to more than 20,000 seriously ill children and family members annually – all completely free of charge. The camp is a community that celebrates fun, friendship and the spirit of childhood. In 2016, when Mackenzie was heading off to college, the youth of Trinity Church took on the role of hosting the annual fundraiser and pumpkin display on the church’s grounds at 36 Main Street. This will be the 5th year Trinity Church will be hosting the Great Pumpkin Challenge and they invite everyone to participate in this wonderful and inspiring Halloween tradition. Your jack-o-lantern can be goody, frightening, funny – anything goes. Carved pumpkins and donations will be collected in front of Trinity Church at 36 Main Street (the stone church by the flagpole) on Sunday october 24 from 10:30-12:30 pm and Saturday October 30 from 11-4pm and Sunday, October 31 from 10:30-12:30pm. You can also put your pumpkin on the scaffolding anytime on or after October 24 and mail your donation to Trinity church or donate via the link on the Trinity website: www.trinitynewtownct.org. 100% of the donations will go to the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Please join us in carving pumpkins on Sunday October 24 on front lawn of the church, following 9:30 am service. If you would like to volunteer to help staff the pumpkin donation, please contact Julie Dunn at jmcgdunn@charter.net This Sunday, September 19th, our Bishop Ian Douglas will be with us as we celebrate baptism and confirmation. Masks are mandatory, and we must space out in the pews – and at the communion rail! - at a 6-foot distance by household. The service will also be live-streaming for virtual participation, as always, on our website.
Bishop Douglas will also join us for an outdoor coffee hour where he will speak and answer questions. Bring a lawn chair – and we will also have some folding chairs available. We will not be able to offer our 11:15 Chapel in the Garden service – and we invite these friends to our outdoor coffee hour. Friends, let’s begin to gather again for our outdoor service, Chapel in the Garden! With the promise of cooler weather ahead - and with increasing concern about the Delta variant - it feels important to resume our weekly practice of gathering near the Labyrinth and Gazebo at 11:15 AM for our simple, spoken Eucharist service.
Bring a lawn chair, and participate according to your comfort and safety. Trinity Church will continue to offer the 9:30 service in the Sanctuary. Newtown is seeing high levels of viral transmission, so masks are now mandatory, as well as spacing according to household. The 9:30 service continues to be live-streamed for virtual worship. Chapel in the Garden is weather-dependent – if it promises heavy rain, we may need to cancel. Also, we always need assistance carrying a few items from the lowest level of the Church to the Garden, and vice-versa! Email Rev. Andrea at awyatt@trinitynewtownct.org with questions! You and your family are very much in our prayers for safety, especially with school starting. A long-awaited opportunity for Confirmation!
Surprising and joyful news! Beloved Ones, we have just learned that our Diocesan Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas will join us at Trinity Episcopal Church in Newtown on Sunday, September 19th for our 9:30 AM service. Just as we are catching up with long-deferred services and celebrations here at Trinity, our Bishops are now scheduling events delayed by pandemic. Bishop Ian will confirm young people and adults who prepared with Rev. Matt and Rev. Jenny in a class that feels like a long time ago now! Please contact Rev. Andrea (awyatt@trinitynewtownct.org or 475-323-7767) to indicate that you will be available for a Service of Confirmation on September 19th. Also, she would be delighted to speak with adults who were not part of this class but would be interested in Reception or Confirmation in the Episcopal Church. Our first Breakfast Sunday of the season will also be offered on Sunday, September 19th! This day will be a beautiful way to welcome our families back to Trinity and kick off the program year!! Masks Encouraged at Indoor Worship Beginning Sunday, August 1st @ Trinity Episcopal Church
Beloved Ones, I look forward to reconnecting with you after my vacation - I have missed you!! I give thanks to the Rev. Jim Speer and to the Rev. Salin Low for their presence in my absence. As I unpack my suitcase, we are all absorbing very new guidance and data from the CDC about the Delta variant of the COVID virus. New questions are raised about the possibility of vaccinated folks transmitting the virus, and we are also seeing 'breakthrough' illness among the vaccinated. Cases are rising in Connecticut, and so we must step up our efforts to prevent transmission. Please wear a mask to indoor worship beginning this Sunday. We will continue to offer Communion in one form, and invite you to receive a blessing if you do not wish to partake of the bread. Your Wardens and I thank you for your continuing flexibility and good humor as we navigate together the twists and turns of this public health challenge. Summer Blessings! Rev. Andrea Castner Wyatt |
The Rev. andrea castner wyattThe Rev. Andrea Castner Wyatt is honored to accept the call of Trinity Episcopal Church to serve and lead as Rector. She looks forward with joy to walking with the people of Trinity Church, and to discovering with you what Jesus is up to in Newtown, CT. Contact Rev. Andrea at awyatt@trinitynewtownct.org or by calling 203-426-9070. |