Dear Friends,

Many years ago, I attended a meeting of one of the committees of the parish I was serving. Clergy attend a LOT of committee meetings – in the parishes they serve, in the dioceses where they’re canonically resident, and in the communities where their churches are located. I have no idea how many such meetings I’ve gone to, but the number is well into triple digits and may have crossed the one thousand mark. I never thought to count them.

The particular committee whose meeting I attended many years ago was planning a special event – a joyous celebration that would involve both parishioners and people from the surrounding neighborhood. As we talked about the different activities that would be part of the event, excitement started to grow. Finally one of the committee members said, “It’s going to be an extravaganzia!” – not an extravaganza, but an extra-va-gan-zia! I’m not sure why the addition of a single letter – the letter “i” – made the event sound like it was going to be so much more fun, but it certainly did.

This coming Sunday, the big event (other than the celebration of the Holy Eucharist which is always a big event) will be Plazapalooza. Plazapalooza will be an extra-va-gan-zia! (I hope you are smiling at this silliness.) What’s going to happen?

Here’s an overview:
Trinity’s always popular coffee hour will move to My Brother’s Place on the second floor of the Parish House and will be enhanced with special food provided by the Wardens and Vestry. Heather Meyer, Trinity’s Director of Operations, will provide a brief history of the Plaza which she will illustrate with some amazing photos from the parish archives. Finance Committee member Dennis Degnan will “do the numbers” – laying out the cost of this critically important project and how it’s been paid for. And then Bruce & Deacon Meribah Mansfield will invite us out onto the Plaza itself where four “stations” will be set up. We’ll learn what it means to be a Sacred Grounds congregation, and they’ll share aspects of a vision for the terrific restored space and seek input and ideas from everyone present. What fun it will be!

So, plan to come to Plazapalooza – this Sunday’s extravaganzia. After days of chilly and damp weather, Sunday is supposed to be warm with a predicted high of 83 degrees! The three “celebration” maples planted earlier this spring have started leafing out. There’ll be food, fellowship, and Plaza possibilities. Who knows? It may even turn into a Plazapaloo-zia!

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate