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Dear Friends,

On Wednesday of this week, our son, Peter, sent photos of his sons on their first day of school. Edward and Sammy started sixth and third grades respectively in the Worthington City School District located just north of Columbus. Their cousins – also our grandchildren – live in New York where school begins after Labor Day (the time of year, in my opinion, when school should start. I suspect my having grown up in Upstate New York influences my opinion about this matter.)

Back-to-school pictures have been popping up in my Facebook feed ever since the beginning of August when schools in Indiana kicked off the 2024-2025 school year. Because I began to serve as interim at St. Christopher’s, Carmel in 2017, the little children I knew then aren’t little anymore. Elementary school kids are now in high school, and high school students have already graduated from college. As Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “So it goes.”

The start of this year’s school year feels different from others for me. You see, I’ve always had someone in our house heading back – my wife, Terry. Her retirement last May has changed the usual rhythm. The advent of August always used to bring a flurry of activity, and although Terry doesn’t seem to miss the tasks of ordering supplies, prepping her room, and making name tags for her first graders, I do.

So, it’s probably a good thing Trinity’s “program year” begins in early September. Its arrival mitigates the loss of my going back to school, even if my “going back” was vicarious. I’m grateful there’s a similar feeling of anticipation and excitement in the parish as various committees and your staff gear up for the start of the fall “term.”

With PRIDE only a week away, most of the time and energy recently has gone to ensuring Trinity’s celebration of our LGBTQIA+ siblings is beautiful and joyful. This issue of Topics contains information on all the ways to participate and, especially, to volunteer (see below)!

Then it’s Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. How can that be already? Many enjoy the long weekend with trips to the beach or pool and cookouts. We’ll still have church on September 1 – and feel free to come in summer casual attire!

Then the pace quickens on Adams Street! Here’s a preview of what’s in store:

• Saturday, September 7 – Safe Church Training will be offered in person at Trinity from 9:00 am – 12:30 pm. Sadly, both child and adult sexual abuse happens in churches. Safe Church Training gives church members the tools to recognize and reduce the likelihood of such abuse occurring. The training is mandatory in the Episcopal Church for the clergy, for those who work with children, and for others in leadership positions. Sign up for the class below.
• Sunday, September 8 – “Welcome Back Sunday!” Trinity will welcome Mariachi Mexico 2020 – a terrific mariachi band from Detroit – who will play during the service and at the fiesta afterwards. Trinity’s Choir will be back after their summer hiatus. Plan to join us for a morning of great music and celebration. It’s a good way to kick off national Hispanic Heritage Month when, starting September 15, the history, heritage, and accomplishments of Hispanic and Latino Americans of past and present takes center stage. There’ll also be a photographer taking “School Pictures” as we populate the parish’s database with photos to help the new rector get to know us better.
• Sunday, September 15 – Sunday School classes begin for children where families meet the teachers at the beginning of worship in the sanctuary. After a game, a Bible story, a craft related to the story, and a snack, kids return to the sanctuary to join their families for Holy Communion. For more information contact George Benson, Director of Community Engagement.
• Also on Sunday, September 15 – we begin our fall adult formation offering: “Prepping for Election Day 2024.” What is the relationship between faith and citizenship? What is a Christian’s responsibility as a citizen? What do I need to know about voting? Is American Civil Religion the same as Christian Nationalism? How can we disagree without being disagreeable? What spiritual disciplines can we practice as we approach Election Day on November 5?

Mark your calendars now and be thinking of someone you might invite to join you in one or more of these activities. It’s not back-to-school; it’s Welcome Back! I hope you’re looking forward to it as much as I am.

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

Over the past year, there has been an ongoing conversation about how we can care for our children here at Trinity when it comes to spiritual formation. This is something close to my heart, and it is not because I have a kid here. When I first started volunteering and working for churches, it was in children’s ministry. Providing a safe space for children to learn who they are in Jesus is an incredibly important part of caring for the church body. We started down the road earlier this year when we hired Ms. Wendi to staff our nursery. She’s been a great addition to our team.

We are now ready to take the next step by expanding what we offer for our 1st – 5th grade kids. Starting Sunday, September 16, we plan to launch Trinity Kid’s Sunday School. What would it take to do this?! Great question, and this is where you come in!:

• 12 volunteers who would serve in pairs (2) in a single classroom
• Volunteers serve once every 6 weeks
• Parents can be volunteers; other parishioners especially welcome!

Here’s the support and training Trinity will provide:

• Safe Church training (required) – either in-person here in My Brother’s Place at Trinity on Saturday, September 7, from 9:00 – 12:30 am. Childcare, coffee & refreshments provided. Or,
• Online Safe Church training (required). Register by contacting Heather at the Parish Office – heather@trinitytoledo.org
• Sunday lessons from Illustrated Ministry curriculum detailing the story, craft, prayer, and expectations for each week.
• Classroom materials and supplies
• Snacks

Here’s how a typical Sunday morning would go for that week’s volunteers:

• Volunteers of the week meet parents and kids in the sanctuary where kids are “dropped off” to them.
• At 10:05, one volunteer leads the kids upstairs to the Parish House classroom; the other brings up the rear to make sure no kids wander off.
• The volunteers lead the kids through a game, a Bible story, a craft related to the story, and a snack
• When the lesson is finished (10:40 am), the volunteers and kids return to the sanctuary where they meet their parents during the passing of the peace.
• Kids then stay with their parents for the rest of the service.

We are excited to have a number of children worshiping with us. I know we have at least 12 volunteers who will help us kick off Trinity Kids’ Sunday School on September 16 because whenever there is an ask here, Trinity shows up! Is God calling you to this ministry?

This has been a banner year for Trinity Episcopal Church as we have launched and sustained new ministries and have seen growth during a transition period. The way y’all continue to show up to support and be present is not something I have ever experienced before in a house of worship. I am so honored to be here serving with and for y’all. If there are any questions, or if I can clarify anything, please reach out and ask me.

Grace and peace,

George Benson (he, him)
Director of Community Engagement
george@trinitytoledo.org

Dear Friends,

The weekend essay by David Owen, in this week’s New Yorker magazine is all about porches. Its title, which is itself long enough to be considered an essay is “Inside Out: The magical in-betweenness – and surprising epidemiological history – of the porch.” Owens points out that, during hot months in the era before air-conditioning, a porch was usually the coolest room in a house. Many, although not all homes, are now cooled by artificial climate control, and during steamy weeks, like this past one, we mostly live indoors where the temperature and humidity are comfortable.

Terry and I have an extraordinary front porch at home – one large enough so that, in Spring every year, we create a living room on it. After sweeping and washing the floor, we bring out a cushioned couch and chairs, along with some old wooden rockers we inherited from friends years ago. Because the porch faces east, it’s comfortably in the shade during the late afternoon and evening hours, making it the perfect place to eat supper and read a book. A ceiling fan moves the air on still evenings and, when we run it fast enough, keeps the bugs at bay. A small children’s table and chairs in one corner hearken back to the time our kids were little, and a climbing hydrangea envelopes one of the two brick pillars.

I don’t have a porch here in Toledo; I have a concrete slab outside the living room doors of my apartment instead. My neighbors have done much more with their concrete slabs than I. They’ve put chairs and tables and plants on them – which represents an act of faith, in my opinion, given the neighborhood. No furniture has gone missing – proof that the security firm that patrols the parking lots of the apartment complex is an effective deterrent.

Owens writes, “Porches are semi-magical spaces, intermediate between inside and outside.” The idea of a porch being an intermediate space – a space between “in” and “out.” – led the church I served in Granville to call one of its programs, “The Porch.” The program was intended to be a ministry of hospitality and healing for disaffected Christians and, for all, a non-threatening introduction to alternative views of the Christian faith. During sessions held over five consecutive Sunday evenings, participants had the chance to explore Christianity from different points of view, learn how to take the Bible seriously, but not literally, and what it would mean to live a life that incorporated the values of Jesus.

We believed then, and I still believe now, that crossing a church’s threshold for the first time is really hard for many people – especially those who have experienced any kind of trauma in a religious setting. Meeting on a “porch” was a way to lower the threshold.

Trinity may not have a specific program called “The Porch,” but it has many porch-like opportunities. Earlier this year, we welcomed people to view the solar eclipse during “Totality at Trinity.” A huge crowd came to the Plaza for the Fourth of July fireworks. Music & the Arts concert series represent another “porch.” And later this month, Toledo’s Pride observances will give this parish another opportunity to offer a space that’s “intermediate between inside and outside.”

Is there someone you might invite to the coolest room in the house.?

See you on the porch.

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

Paris, France is six hours ahead of Toledo, so the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics will begin at 1:30 pm today. Hosting the Olympics – whether the summer or winter edition – is an enormous task for any city, and it falls to Paris this year to welcome athletes and spectators from around the world to the games which had their origin in ancient Greece around 3,000 years ago. The ancient games lasted until 393 AD when the Theodosius I banned them to promote Christianity. (Leave it to the Christians to be the party poopers.)

Unlike other opening ceremonies, this year’s will be held outside a stadium. The parade is set to be held in the heart of Paris along the Seine, its main artery. Each national delegation will have a boat which will join a parade of boats moving from east to west in which some 10,500 athletes will cross through the center of Paris. By the way, work on cleaning the Seine for the Olympics has been going on since 2015. More than $1.5 billion has been spent so the river could be used for swimming events. Nine days ago, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, took a swim to demonstrate how clean the Seine is now. I’ll spare you the details of how the sewer infrastructure was renovated. It’s enough to say that, even with the building of a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, planners still hope there won’t be heavy rain between now and August 11.

Not surprisingly, the unique plan has already had an enormous effect on the parts of the Ville lumière – the City of Light. Grandstands and platforms have been under construction since mid-June, a project that was scheduled to be completed yesterday. Only four bridges crossing the Seine have been spared from construction during this preparation time. The upper and lower quays have been closed to the public for the last week. And even the Tour de France – the most famous bicycle race in the world – moved its traditional finish on the Champs-Elysees to a sprint between Monaco and Nice in the south of France.

When the Emperor Theodosius banned the games back in the fourth century, he must have forgotten about all the athletic metaphors employed by St. Paul and others to describe the Christian life. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews instructs his readers to “run without stumbling the race that is set before [them.]” Drawing on images of ancient footraces in Greece, Rome, and Israel, the Christian life is described as a marathon, not a sprint – one that requires faith, stamina, commitment, and discipline.

Paul reminded the Corinthians that “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things” – and called on them to exercise self-control in a society where there was precious little of it. The letters written to Timothy tell him that only an athlete who is physically fit will win the prize, and that he, as a believer, must do the same. “Train yourself for godliness,” Paul wrote to his mentee. “Train” (Greek gymnazō) literally means “to exercise” and enters the English language as gymnasium. And, in his second letter, Paul tells Timothy that an athlete has to compete according to the rules. Similarly, every believer must live in obedience to God. Paul writes, “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”

So, while we are watching people whose self-discipline and training has brought them to participate in Olympic-level competition, we might reflect on what kind of shape our spiritual lives are in. And if we find they’re out of shape and flabby, perhaps it’s time to start some kind of training program. Prayer, scripture reading, worship, meditation, journaling, or serving in some way have long been recommended by spiritual coaches as ways to get in good spiritual shape.

Let me paraphrase the opening line of every Olympics, summer or winter, and say, “I declare open the Games of Trinity Episcopal Church, celebrating the 47th Summer Spiritual Games. (187 years Trinity has been in existence, divided by four). Game on!

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

The Gospel reading for this coming Sunday talks about lots of people “coming and going” around Jesus and his disciples. It seems an appropriate scripture passage for this week when Trinity has lots of comings and goings on among our building partners.

We purposely use the term “building partners” instead of “tenants” for the entities that occupy parts of our building because the parish doesn’t rent space to just any organization or business looking for a downtown location. We choose to share space with organizations that align with Trinity’s mission to be engaged with the life of the City of Toledo and that share our progressive and inclusive values.

Leadership Toledo, our longest-running building partner, has – these last weeks – been steadily moving out of the offices they’ve occupied on the third floor of the Parish House. They’re taking some furniture with them, donating some to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, recycling outdated electronics, and tossing out everything else. Trinity shared in the cost of the dumpster Leadership Toledo brought in so we could also clear out the kinds of things that always seem to accumulate at churches. (Thanks, by the way, to the fifteen volunteers who showed up this past Monday evening to help!) We’ll miss our colleagues at Leadership Toledo but take solace and even some satisfaction in this church’s part in providing space for them to grow as they were starting their work with both adults and youth.

While Leadership was moving out upstairs, Toledo Streets Newspaper (TSN) was moving furniture and other items into their new location downstairs in the former Next-to-New space. Their first vendor meeting at Trinity was yesterday and, since it was our turn to provide the vendor lunch, we hosted lunch for them in My Brother’s Place. We are delighted to welcome this organization whose goal is to give the Toledo community a program to lift individuals out of poverty through work. TSN will have access to their space from their entrance on N. St. Clair.

And, finally, while these two organizations were “going and coming,” Trinity finalized an agreement with Girls on the Run Northwest Ohio (GOTR) on Wednesday. In the next two weeks, they will move into some of the space being vacated by Leadership Toledo.

GOTR serves fourteen counties in northwest Ohio and offers programs designed to inspire girls of all abilities to recognize and embrace their inner strength and make meaningful connections with others. It’s about so much more than running! Trained coaches use physical activity and discussions to build social, emotional and physical skills while encouraging healthy habits for life. They’ve served over 7,000 girls in northwest Ohio since 2012.

Part of the national GOTR organization, our newest building partner offers a welcoming space where all can have a meaningful and engaging experience and feel like they belong. When GOTR says “all,” they mean people of all races, ethnicities, income levels, sexual orientations, gender identities, religions, and abilities. Their commitment to radical hospitality mirrors ours.

Farewell and godspeed to our friends at Leadership Toledo, and welcome to our newest building partners. We look forward to many years of mutually beneficial relationships.

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

We are firmly planted in the dog days of summer and nearly nothing signifies a hot summer day quite like a lemonade stand with eager young sellers situated behind a dressed-up card table in the blaring hot sun. Well, we can spare you the blaring hot sun this Sunday. Our own Melanie Schell will have a lemonade stand during coffee hour to support the fundraising efforts of Isaiah 117 House in Lucas County. As their website states, Isaiah 117 is reshaping the way foster care begins.

When children are removed from their homes out of concern for their safety, they are usually brought to a child welfare services office to await placement. This wait can be a few hours to several days. These children often have nothing with them and are
scared, lonely, hungry, and in dirty clothing.

Isaiah 117 provides a comforting home where these children instead can be brought to wait – a place that is safe with friendly and loving volunteers who provide clean clothes, smiles, toys, and snuggly blankets. This space allows children to receive the comfort and care they need while child welfare staff can do the necessary paperwork and identify a good placement.

What a powerful mission! In a few weeks, George Benson and I will attend an Isaiah 117 ‘church connections’ breakfast with other houses of worship in Lucas County to learn how we Trinity folks can be a support as this unfolds in our area. Come thirsty this Sunday. Let’s draw the circle wide, friends!

Big love,

Heather Meyer

Director of Operations

Dear friends,

We are currently four months into Breakfast @ Trinity, and I thought it would be a good time for an update. For a little recap, last September, vestry member Karen Keune submitted a grant to the Diocese of Ohio requesting $5,000 to relaunch and restart our community breakfast as well as beefing up our coffee hour. Our goal budget for the first year knowing we’d have to purchase new equipment, update old, and pay for food was $10,000. If we received the grant, we’d start a grass roots effort to match the other $5,000. Before we received news on the grant, we had the matching funds, and then a few short months later we received the monies from the diocese. It was then a small group of people started meeting to cast this dream for being a safe space for great music and quality food in a food desert on Sunday mornings.

Four months in, we have started our volunteer pods, as well as regular volunteers who decide to show up accumulating in 30-35 people over the course of the month. That is an incredible feat that deserves a lot of recognition. Every week, at least 5-8 volunteers show up between 7:30-8am on Sundays to cook, wash dishes, set tables, serve food, make friends, and be the hands and feet of God. As of this past Sunday, we have served 866 meals. Currently, we are averaging 54 people a week, which means, the likelihood of us having served over 1,000 meals by the end of July is very real. Every week, we see new faces and regulars, the vast majority of which do not worship at Trinity.

I share all of this because, I am so proud of the work y’all are doing here. This community shows up when called, and our downtown community sees it. What we are doing on Sunday mornings in our little corner of the Kindom isn’t happening like anywhere else around this city, and people know it. So, if you’re interested, come on down and check it out. Doors open and music starts at 8:30, coffee, cereal, oatmeal, and juice ready to go; eggs, and the rest of the good stuff is served at 8:45.

Grace and peace,

George

Dear Friends,

At the end of this month, I will have been serving Trinity Toledo for nine months – the halfway point of my agreement as Interim Rector with your Vestry. “Time flies when you’re having fun” – so goes the old saying. And it has been fun to be with you! The parish accurately reflects the four words often used to describe it: progressive, inclusive, creative, downtown.

Let me add one more word (although I’m not proposing we add it to our communications.) The word is “involved.” At the Vestry retreat this past February, we decided that one of the things we could do to strengthen Trinity before your next rector comes was to expand the involvement of parishioners in the life and leadership of the parish. This is happening! And it’s happening more quickly than I ever imagined. Let me share the evidence with you.

More than 35 people serve in one of the pods that make Trinity’s weekly community breakfast possible. In addition to those helping through the pods, several other parishioners are present every week to pitch in – welcoming everyone to My Brother’s Place, joining with our neighbors in table fellowship, and washing dishes (we see you, Sean Patrick!). A similar number of members and friends of all ages have helped bring the restored Plaza to life, hauling bags of dirt, topsoil, and mulch from the street to the upper level, planting native species, vegetables, pumpkins, and sunflowers. Someone came to stake the tomatoes this week; another person regularly checks the moisture level in the soil and opens the drip irrigation system to keep the garden watered.

The newly-formed Parish Life Committee has many new participants who have sponsored or will sponsor activities that help build community – events like “Baseball with the Bishop” on Father’s Day, the Mac & Cheese Bakeoff last weekend that welcomed over 60 people to the Parish House, and the upcoming Fourth of July celebration on the Plaza – one of the best places to view Toledo’s Fireworks display. A subgroup is beginning to look at how we can better care for each other when the delivery of a meal, or a ride to an appointment, or being a helpful presence when a death occurs in a family.

The Adult Spiritual Formation Committee has planned two activities this summer and will offer Sunday classes in the fall in preparation for the November elections – everything from the mechanics of voting (voter registration, IDs needed to vote) to how we can disagree with our families and friends without being disagreeable. And this coming Sunday, June 30, we’ve invited parents to gather for a “lunch and learn” about hopes for Christian formation programming this fall for children and youth.

The committee planning for our celebration of Pride in late August has organized itself and meets regularly.

Behind the scenes, members of the Finance Committee monitor cash flow, budgets, and investments. A Property Task Force recently studied and prioritized what work needs to be done to ensure that our buildings are in good shape and are safe and secure.

The eight-member Search Committee recently completed a significant phase of its work and hopes to release the Parish Profile and the Office of Transition Ministry portfolio to the wider church at the beginning of August.

Last but definitely not least, attendance at Sunday services this summer – even with the choir on hiatus – keeps growing! So Trinity is progressive, inclusive, creative, downtown and involved.

Have you found your ministry at Trinity? St. Paul used a metaphor to remind one of the churches he planted that the Body of Christ needs eyes and ears and hands and feet – that it needs all the parts – to function effectively. If anything I’ve mentioned in this letter appeals to you enough that you want to be part of it, contact the Parish Office – (419) 243-1231 or trinity@trinitytoledo.org. And if you have a burning desire to start a new ministry, let us know that, too. There are many ways to discover a ministry that brings you a sense of joy and fulfillment!

I can’t wait to see what happens in the second half of my time as your Interim Rector.

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

The 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church begins this coming Sunday, June 23, in Louisville, Kentucky. The General Convention is the triennial churchwide gathering where leaders are elected to important positions in The Episcopal Church, legislation is considered and acted upon, networking and fellowship connect people from over 100 different dioceses, and celebratory worship takes place.

An advance team, members of the Episcopal Church staff, have been in Louisville for several days preparing for legislative committee meetings and other pre-Convention events. One of the most anticipated of the pre-Convention events will take place today (June 21) at 7:00 pm, when Presiding Bishop Michael Curry headlines a revival at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center. You can find out more about the revival here.

This General Convention marks the last one for Curry as Presiding Bishop. His successor will be elected by the House of Bishops in a closed meeting of the bishops on June 26 and installed as the next Presiding Bishop during a service to be held on November 1 in Washington National Cathedral.

Five bishops are standing for election as the 28th presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church. They are Nebraska Bishop J. Scott Barker, Central New York Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe, Pennsylvania Bishop Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez, Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright and Northwestern Pennsylvania Bishop Sean Rowe, who also serves as bishop provisional of the Diocese of Western New York.

To give you some sense of the size and scope of the General Convention, Episcopal News Service reports that more that 10,000 people are expected to gather in Louisville. Deputations from 108 dioceses, along with the Episcopal Church in Navajoland and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, were invited to attend.

Registered attendees include 167 bishops, two bishop-elects, 829 deputies and 239 alternate deputies. All the hotel rooms reserved for the convention are booked, and General Convention even had to increase its blocks of reservations – about 21,000 “room nights” – because of the high demand.

The General Convention, like the United States Congress, is a bicameral body. As the church’s primary governing body, it splits its authority between the House of Bishops, comprised of all bishops (both active and retired), and the House of Deputies, comprised of clergy and lay deputies elected by their respective dioceses.

In addition to the election of the next Presiding Bishop, who will serve for a term of nine (9) years, the House of Deputies will elect its President and Vice President. Julia Ayala Harris, as the incumbent House of Deputies president, is running for re-election against two challengers, Zena Link and the Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton, who is the sitting vice president.

Three people have declared candidacies for the House of Deputies’ vice president: the Rev. Charles Graves IV of the Diocese of Texas, the Rev. Ruth Meyers of the Diocese of California, and the Rev. Steve Pankey of the Diocese of Kentucky. Episcopal Church Canons require that the positions of President and Vice President be held by leaders from different orders, clergy and lay, so the outcome of the presidential election will determine who, if anyone, will be eligible on the ballot for vice president.

If you’d like to know more about the worship services a General Convention click on this link. And, more than you could ever want to know about the Convention can be found at The Episcopal Church’s Media Hub.

Following the June 23-28 General Convention will help you learn more about the wider Episcopal Church.

I ask you to join me in praying for those who are traveling to Louisville, those who are casting ballots, and those who are giving of their time to serve the Episcopal Church as faithful disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.

Finally, please join me in giving thanks for Presiding Bishop Curry’s faithful and exuberant ministry. Through his preaching and presence, he has represented The Episcopal Church in remarkable ways – preaching at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, appearing frequently with Hoda and Jenna on The Today Show, and thrilling participants during one of his 27 different revivals since he became Presiding Bishop in November 2015.

May God bless the work of the 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church!

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

For many years, Trinity’s Sunday service has blessed worshipers who have attended in person or at home through our pre-recorded Trinity@Home services and, more recently, our live broadcasts. The music – drawn from traditional hymns, praise songs, Gospel music, and “secular” offerings – has been a special strength. Prayers and statements of faith have also been gathered and carefully curated to respond to the spiritual needs of parishioners and guests. Trinity has often pushed the boundaries of what could be considered “Episcopalian” as we have striven to be a progressive, inclusive, and creative community of faith. Most of all, Trinity’s worship has consistently been joyful – it’s been a communal act of praise honoring the God who loves the world so much that he gave his Son Jesus for us.

One of the things that appealed to me about serving as your interim was the way you worshiped. I passionately believe there’s a place for innovation and creativity in worship in The Episcopal Church because much of the church’s traditional worship and music, while beautiful, has little appeal to a large segment of people seeking to pray with others in community. I say this as someone who grew up with traditional worship and as a priest who still loves the way the Anglican tradition “marries” music and liturgy.

With these things as background, I’m writing to let you know of some changes in Trinity’s worship that will take effect starting next Sunday, June 23.

At the recent Clergy Conference, Bishop Anne directed the clergy who serve the parishes in the Diocese of Ohio to use only worship resources authorized by The Episcopal Church for the principal Sunday service. Such resources are those authorized by the General Convention of the church, and, in some cases, those approved by the diocesan bishop. The church’s Book of Common Prayer is the best-known of these. In addition, resources from the Enriching our Worship series may also be used. You can find a complete list of authorized resources here.

What will not be affected?

• Bishop Anne’s directive will not affect music. Chelsie and Grace, who perform an extraordinary ministry picking music that reflects themes found in the weekly readings, will continue to be able to choose music from all the sources they already are using. This is a huge piece of good news, since a good deal of the joy and power of Trinity’s worship derives from the music we hear and sing together.
• It will not affect the Prayers of the People. We will still be able to pray in such a way that highlights certain intentions and current concerns. For example, the Prayers of the People for the last two weeks have highlighted Pride and Gun Violence. We’ll continue to find and use prayers like these that are relevant.
• It will not affect the blessing at the end of the service. The blessing will continue to be sung or said, or some combination of the two.

What will be affected?

• The opening prayers or “collects.” For some time. we have drawn each Sunday’s opening prayer from Steven Shakespeare’s Prayers for an Inclusive Church. Going forward, the opening collect will come from The Book of Common Prayer. I have respectfully requested that Bishop Anne allow Trinity to use Steven Shakespeare’s collects since they reflect the themes of the readings and point to a world that bears the marks of God’s kingdom. I am waiting for the bishop to reply.
• The “statement of faith.” Trinity has used the Nicene Creed in a rotation with other statements of faith, none of which has been authorized. So, with the exception of Sundays when we’ll use the Apostles’ Creed because there’s a baptism, we’ll recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday.
• The Post-Communion Prayer where, instead of sourcing a prayer from Steven Shakespeare or some other location, we’ll use a prayer from Enriching Our Worship or the prayer book.

These changes give me the opportunity to provide some important information, as this parish moves through the transition to your next rector, about who has responsibility for worship:

• The bishop has the authority and responsibility for worship in his/her/their diocese. As a priest, my authority to baptize, celebrate the Holy Eucharist, and officiate at other rites of the Church is derived from Bishop Anne’s authority. She appointed me as your interim (with the Vestry’s input), and she has licensed me to serve in the Diocese of Ohio. Your next rector’s authority when it comes to worship will also be derived from Bishop Anne.
• Subject to the pastoral direction of Bishop Anne, your next rector will have full authority and responsibility for the conduct of worship at Trinity. Your next rector may delegate some authority to staff members or share responsibility with others, but the rector will have the last word when it comes to liturgy and music.

As your interim, I will continue to advocate respectfully and tirelessly for permission to use liturgical resources that represent “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3) and, at the same time, touch the hearts and minds of God’s people in the 21st Century. I will do this because Trinity’s progressive, inclusive, and creative worship has a great deal to offer those who are already part of this community and those who are longing for authentic contemporary expressions of faith.

Please let me know of your questions and concerns (which is another way of saying, “speak to me directly about this rather than holding parking lot conversations or grumbling to others about your unhappiness.” I want to hear from you directly!)

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear friends,

Today is the observance of the 10th annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and the kick-off of Wear Orange Weekend. Last year during Trinity’s Wear Orange Sunday service, we had a community conversation about our hopes and fears about gun violence, and our ideas for addressing it (here is the harvest from that conversation). One of the ideas was to join with other local faith communities to address the epidemic of gun violence. The previous day, I had marched in the Old West End Festival parade with Moms Demand Action and met Mike Linehan, a parishioner from Olivet Lutheran Church. Mike and I had a brief conversation about how our two faith communities were wrestling with the issue of gun violence, and exchanged contact information. Later in June, we began to work together on what is now unofficially called the Multifaith Coalition to Reduce Gun Violence. I say unofficially because that name is often confused with the long-established Multifaith Council of Northwest Ohio (a group that promotes interfaith cooperation), so we are exploring how to “brand” our infant group. In the last year, we have held four public forums which have each been attended by between 60-80 people. Trinity graciously hosted the October 8 forum. Topics have included survivor testimonies, legislative advocacy training, safe gun storage, and updates on the City of Toledo’s new Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), which has been working with the community since last summer to develop a five-year plan to reduce gun violence. Prayer has been included in each forum. Over 200 people from 41 northwest Ohio congregations representing many faith traditions have participated in at least one forum, including an impressive 39 Trinity parishioners. Thank you for your commitment to help reduce gun violence!

I have learned a lot about gun violence in the past year. I have participated in countless meetings, training sessions, educational programs and advocacy efforts. I have met many people who are working to prevent gun violence in northwest Ohio, some of whom are now friends. The biggest thing that I have learned this year is that survivors are the leaders of the movement to reduce gun violence. They need and deserve our support. They welcome us to walk with them as allies. I have participated in the Victims and Survivors working group of the MONSE Community Action Table, one of eight groups that are making recommendations to be included in the City’s five-year plan. The MONSE process has been victim and survivor-centered. The voices that have been amplified are those closest to the issue. One of the recommendations of our working group is to create a Compassion and Healing Fund for Gun Violence Victims and Survivors, to provide immediate financial support after the unfathomable loss of a loved one from gun violence. I provided testimony to urge approval of the Fund by Toledo City Council, which was scheduled to vote on it at their June 5 City Council meeting. I’ll let you know on Sunday if it was approved!

This Sunday, we will raise up the voices of the bruised and broken, strong and resilient survivors that are leading the movement to prevent gun violence. Parishioner and survivor Gwen La Croix will share her personal story, and I will preach. We will focus on secure gun storage, which saves kids’ lives. Free gun locks and a free gun lock box will be available for anyone who wants them. Here are many resources to explore for more information on how to reduce gun violence–organizations, safe gun storage, gun sense legislation, books and more. Please email me if you’d like to receive email updates from the Multifaith Coalition to Reduce Gun Violence. See you Sunday with your orange on!

Peace,
Deacon Meribah

Dear Friends,

I’m writing this week’s “Dear Friends” as an ally and a parent.

I arrived in New York City in the late summer of 1977 to begin seminary – eight short years after Stonewall. The campus of the General Theological Seminary is located in a neighborhood known as Chelsea. If you were to visit now, you’d find upscale restaurants and stores, cutting-edge theaters and performance spaces, and over 200 trendy visual-arts galleries – an enormous transformation of the neighborhood has taken place during the last 45 years.

Six blocks south of the seminary is the West Village where many of us would go for an evening out or just to walk through the more than 50 city blocks that comprise an historic district established by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee. The southern boundary of the West Village neighborhood is Christopher Street.

The Stonewall Inn, located at 53 Christopher Street, is the site of a series of demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. The Stonewall riots became the defining event that started the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world. The timing of the police raid – in June – is the reason why Pride month begins tomorrow, June 1.

In affirmation and celebration of The Episcopal Church’s LGBTQIA+ members, the church’s Office of Communication unveiled a new Pride shield on May 16. The woman who designed the new shield, Melissa Walker, Senior Graphic Designer on the Presiding Bishop’s staff, had this to say about the shield, “As a longtime ally of LGBTQ+ people, I was so excited to work on this Pride shield for The Episcopal Church. I hope many more people feel seen and included by this new graphic as we enter Pride month.”

When you look at the shield that accompanies this letter, you will see elements of the traditional Pride flag as well as the Progress Pride flag and Philadelphia Pride flag – each flag representing a step toward greater inclusion.

Did you know that The Episcopal Church has been working for 50 years toward a greater understanding and radical inclusion of all God’s children? Resolutions from General Convention (the church’s governing body) in 1976 recognized LGBTQ+ people as children of God with an equal claim to the pastoral care of the church and equal protection under the law.

In 1994, General Convention amended the church’s canons to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, providing equal access to the rites and worship of the church, including ordination.

In 2015, General Convention voted to amend the canons that regulate marriage, permitting any couple the rite of holy matrimony.

I report these facts to make it clear that the Episcopal Church has sought to create a world and a society where all are loved, where justice is done, and where the God-given equality of us all, especially the LGBTQIA+ community, is honored in our relationships, in our social arrangements, and in law.

Trinity has long been a church where LGBTQIA+ persons are welcome and wanted. Our worship this Sunday will underscore the parish’s continued commitment to be an open and affirming congregation. In addition to joining in worship this week, please mark your calendar for two dates:

Tuesday, June 11, 6:30 pm for Big Love: an evening of music and activism with Equality Toledo’s Community Action group on Trinty’s Plaza.

Friday, August 23 – Sunday, August 25 – Celebrating Toledo’s Pride – a Trinity tradition.

There’s been an enormous transformation since Stonewall in 1969 and much to celebrate. But there are still prayers to be said and work to be done. Happy beginning of Pride month!

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

This coming Sunday we celebrate Trinity Sunday. This church doesn’t have a patron saint. We’re not named after a person like many other Episcopal congregations are – we’re not a St. Andrew’s, or a St. John’s, or a St. James, or a St. Philip’s. This church was named after the Trinity when the parish had its beginnings in early 1837. So it’s fair to say that this Sunday is our “patronal feast day.”

Trinity Sunday is when we talk about what God is like. We do that every Sunday, of course – at least I hope we do – but on this particular Sunday we are invited to think together about one of the core doctrines of the Christian church – that idea God is three in one and one in three. What’s so important about the doctrine of the Trinity? The answer is Community.

In 2000, a serious, deeply theological book appeared written by the Brazilian theologian and writer, Leonardo Boff. For those who may not recognize the name, Leonardo Boff is a former Franciscan friar who has published widely and has written particularly in the field of what’s called Liberation Theology. He is brilliant and controversial. Both his brilliance and his willingness to provoke controversy landed him in frequent trouble with the Roman Catholic Church. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith went as far as to silence Boff for an entire year back in 1985 – at a time when Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict, was leading it.

The book I’m referring to is the book entitled, Holy Trinity: Perfect Community. In the book, Boff talks about the doctrine of the Trinity – how the doctrine helps us see that, in the beginning was “the communion of the Three, not the solitude of the One.” Boff is saying, in other words, that the very nature of God is community.

If the nature of God is “community,” then it makes all the difference for us at Trinity Toledo. It means that when we are called into fellowship with God, we are also called to be in community with each other. And not just any community. We are called to be in holy community the way God is in holy community – a community of love and giving – a community of hope and joy – a community passionate for justice and truth – a community through which others can catch a glimpse of the very nature of God.

So, this Sunday we celebrate God’s community and our Trinity community. It seems like a fitting thing for us to do in this parish church where all are welcome and wanted. And you thought the doctrine of the Trinity was boring and dry. Not so much.

See you soon!

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

The Great 50 Days of Easter come to an end this Sunday when we celebrate Pentecost. Actually, this Sunday has two names. In addition to Pentecost, this Sunday is also known as Whitsunday. Not surprisingly, the name is a contraction of “White Sunday,” a name that derives from the white garments worn by those who were being baptized on that Sunday.

Pentecost, or Whitsunday, is one of the five great baptismal days recommended in The Book of Common Prayer. From the second century on, Pentecost was a time for baptizing those who had been prepared but who, for some reason, had not been baptized at Easter.

We’ll celebrate a baptism here at Trinity this Sunday as Ariel Grube, an adult member of our choir, undergoes the central liturgy of Christian community. As a way of underscoring the centrality of community, she has asked the choir to be her sponsors!

Ariel has chosen to be baptized by immersion, so this will be the first time in several years that the baptismal pool at the entrance to the church will be put to use. Although it’s unusual in the Episcopal Church for a person to be baptized by immersion, it’s the norm in many other Christian communities. The traditional American song, “I went down in the river to pray . . “ made famous by the move, “O Brother, where art thou?”, is often sung at outdoor full-immersion baptisms for obvious reasons.

That immersion baptism has a long history in our own church is borne out by the fact that the rubrics (or instructions) for performing a baptism give immersion as the first option: “Each candidate is presented by name to the Celebrant, or to an assisting priest or deacon, who then immerses, or pours water upon, the candidate . . .”

The connection between water and the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost goes all the way back to something Jesus said in the Gospel according to John, “”Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, `Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.'” John immediately explains the meaning of Jesus’ words this way, “Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive.”

I hope that you will be present on Sunday to witness this very special baptism and that you will pray for Ariel and for all those who long for a deeper relationship with our gracious and loving God. If you can’t find the right words to pray, here are some you might use:

O God, you have created all things by the power of your Word, and you renew the earth by your Spirit: Give now the water of life to those who thirst for you, that they may bring forth abundant fruit in your glorious kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And, yes, Ariel will be wearing a white robe for her baptism – it is Whitsunday, after all! Let me encourage you to dress for the occasion, too. Wear red in honor of the “tongues, as of fire” that appeared among the disciples when the Day of Pentecost came all those years ago in Jerusalem. No matter what you decide to wear, it will be a festive day!

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

For the last week, my friends from the Village Flower Basket have been posting photos of all the different flower arrangements and gifts they have available for Mother’s Day. Wednesday, they went above and beyond with the announcement that the shoppe will be open on Sunday from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm and sharing a postcard they’re going to have popping up all over town with vases. The postcard has a QR code that can be scanned so customers can view and shop VFB’s Mother’s Day section. To top it off, the store will be hosting Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace’s food truck. Evidently nothing says Mother’s Day like the combination of floral arrangements and franks.

I know the owners and employees of the Village Flower Basket well. They’re former parishioners, and I have been their customer for many years. Holiday centerpieces, prom corsages and boutonnieres, “no special occasion” bouquets for Terry – VFB has done a terrific job with all of it! Most recently, I asked them to do the flowers for the rehearsal dinner on the night before the Bishop of Southern Ohio was going to be ordained. So I’m a fan – not only of their work, but also of their entrepreneurial spirit. One can hardly blame them for advertising so aggressively. Mother’s Day ranks as the second largest “single-day” holiday for florists, falling just behind Valentine’s Day, and it generates a significant portion of many florists’ annual revenue.

But let’s be honest, Mother’s Day is complicated for many. It isn’t a mimosas-and-brunch-kind-of-day for everyone. Here are some reasons:

– Some people don’t have moms.
– Some people don’t have moms – anymore.

And, not even everyone who does have a mom is celebrating.
– Some are estranged.
– Some may be incarcerated & are suffering shame.
– Some may be abandoned.

And then regarding be-ing a mom, some struggle.
– Some struggle hard & long & get success but haven’t gotten there yet.
– Some struggle hard & long & never get their dream.
– Some moms are single moms bringing a new list of complications.

Whether it is due to being widowed, being unwed, being abandoned, they may have no one to head up the celebration of them. They may have mourning attached to their celebration.

That’s a lot of emotion that could potentially be wrapped up in the biggest phone call day of the year.

If you’re excited for Mother’s Day and the day is flowers and cards for you, that’s wonderful. I’m happy for you. And if Mother’s Day is complicated for you, and if you need to take a moment to cry, or hurt, or struggle to forgive, or establish boundaries, those feelings matter too. Sometimes Mother’s Day is complicated. And although I am not a mother, I’ve known enough of them to know that motherhood can be complicated, too.

Now about floral arrangements and franks . . . .

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Dear Friends,

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Trinity will have a new building partner starting next month. Toledo Streets Newspaper (TSN) will occupy the former Next to New space located in the lower level of the church. TSN launched in 2009 as part of 1Matters.org. After five years as a branch of 1Matters, TSN grew to become its own organization. They are part of a global street paper movement of over 110 papers in 35 countries, all with the same goal – giving their communities a program to lift individuals out of poverty through work.

The way their program works is simple: each self-employed vendor starts with 10 free newspapers. Papers are sold with a suggested donation of $1.00. After the first 10 free papers, additional copies are available to vendors at $0.25 each. The vendors keep all profits.

Before this latest development, Trinity already had a solid, positive relationship with TSN. Our volunteers provide a TSN vendor lunch each month, and a generous portion of this year’s Easter offering was designated for support of TSN’s mission.

Trinity is in the process of clearing out the former Next to New space and has been able to donate some of the store fixtures to other area non-profits. However, there’s still much to do. If you’d like to help get the space ready, come on Saturday, May 11, between 10:00 am – 12:00 noon. That day we’ll also be weeding the beds on the Plaza and sprucing up the N. St. Clair side of the church. TSN will use their new space for offices and vendor meetings. They will have their own entrance on N. St. Clair Street. When Trinity delivers lunch each month, the travel distance will be much shorter!

What a blessing it is to be able to welcome an organization that makes such a huge difference in Toledo! And what a terrific thing it will be to have a significant portion of Trinity’s unused space occupied by a group whose mission aligns with the church’s mission! This kind of ongoing partnership is exactly what a progressive, downtown parish should be forming. Welcome, Toledo Streets Newspaper! We look forward to collaborating for a long time to come.

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

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

Dear Friends,

I’ve got my Interim Rector hat on this week so I can promote the recent request of the Search Committee.

Last week, the Committee sent an email to everyone who is on the Trinity Communications list about the “Silent Listening Session” being held this Sunday, April 21. A “Silent Listening Session” is a novel idea in my experience as an interim – one that has a great deal to commend it. Let me explain.

The last two listening sessions were interactive. Lively conversations went on in small groups as participants responded to prompts and questions from facilitators.

Some people respond well to an information gathering approach that’s verbal in nature. I am not one of those people. I like to have time to think about what I’m going to say before I say it. And you know what? That’s a handicap in group settings. By the time I’ve formulated a response, the conversation has moved on without my input.

If you’ve had a similar experience, this Sunday’s “Silent Listening Session” is for you. You have the questions in advance. You will have had over a week to think about how you want to respond to them in writing. No one will interrupt your prayerful, thoughtful reflections. Conversations will not have gone on without your contribution.

Even if you prefer the give-and-take approach of the last two listening sessions, the way the Search Committee is gathering information this time still works for you. Your written answers will be every bit as valued and respected as if you’d said them out loud. And if you still want to give your answers verbally to a Search Committee member, just write to the Committee at trinity@trinitytoledo.org letting them know days and times that you are available to talk (and a phone number at which you can be reached.) On the off chance you aren’t going to be in church this Sunday, you can use the same email address to send in your responses. So you don’t have to hunt for them among your unread emails, here are the questions:

1. Trinity is a radically welcoming community of faith.
a) How specifically does Trinity do this well?
b) How can Trinity improve our welcoming?

2. Trinity strives for justice and peace among all people, and strives to respect the dignity of every human being.
a) What 3 qualities in a Rector do you think will be the best to represent this vision?
b) How will these qualities in a Rector represent this vision?

3. Trinity stands with those in need.
a) Whom do you see us serving?

4. Trinity is growing a community of learners and disciples.
a) In what ways or areas can we continue to grow this community?

5. How can Trinity improve overall?

Right after Sunday’s 10:00 am service you’ll have the chance to respond using the pens and paper provided by the Search Committee. Or you can write your answers at home, put them in an envelope, and hand them to a Search Committee member after church. (That’s how I’d do it.)

How you respond is not important; that you respond is! I hope you will.

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate