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Trinity Presbyterian Church
185 Swaggertown Road
Scotia, NY 12302
(518) 399-8782
[email protected]
www.scotiatrinity.org
Rev. Kathleen Gorman-Coombs
Rev. Dr. Timothy Coombs
June 2015
Friends,
On Sunday, May 17 I preached a sermon about people who claim to be Spiritual, But Not Religious,
commonly known as the SBNR’s. In the message, I lifted up Linda Mercandte’s study that SBNR’s share an
ethic driven by the need for “self-fulfillment.” This ethic or morality derives from the fact that most SBNR’s do
not recognize the existence of a personal, self-conscious, intentional and involved God, but an impersonal,
divine energy that they believe they can tap into through spiritual practices. Since in their understanding there
is no intentional God guiding and teaching us about what is true and just, they are free to determine what is right
and good for themselves. Therefore, the chief end of SBNR’s is not to glorify God, but to work toward their
own glorification through “self-fulfillment.”
The problem with the SBNR approach to all things spiritual is that it is not sustainable. To begin, the
dirty little secret that SBNR’s do not want to face is what happens if they live their life and they don’t feel
fulfilled? What if a person is prevented from doing what he or she feels called to do because of economic
realities and simply opportunity? What about the millions of people throughout the world who do not have the
leisure or means to pursue such quests? Does that mean their life was a failure? Seems like a rather elitist
belief system to me.
Martin Luther rejected the SBNR ethic as works righteousness. Whereas SBNR’s do not worry so much
about salvation as they do self-fulfillment, this still means their chief end in life depends on them. The Good
News of Jesus Christ is that we do not earn our salvation or even our ultimate fulfillment, but we receive it from
God as an act of grace. Our response of faith and trust is not dependent on opportunity to be fulfilling. Life was
and is still fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
The other aspect of the SBNR ethic that many don’t want to face is that it is spiritually lonely. SBNR’s
not only shy away from joining communities as they don’t want to be burdened by the community’s norms and
values, preferring instead to be free to pursue their own personal fulfillment, but also one can not be in a
relationship with an impersonal, divine energy, even if one believes this force is love. We feel love. We act in
love. We are aware of love. We don’t and can’t engage with love as we would another person or God.
Let’s face it, there are times when we get down on our luck. When it seems that we are on our own, and
in fact, maybe I am, but because of my baptism, I trust that I am not. In my baptism I was signed and sealed
with the mark of the Holy Spirit who is forever with me. I am never alone. God is with me. I trust this presence
and God has never let me down. If I were an SBNR I could not say this.
Like I said in my sermon, many SBNR’s eventually will find that despite their best efforts they still have
a spiritual void in their life. We need to be prepared and educated to answer their questions about our experience
about being BOTH Spiritual AND Religious. Community is not to be feared, but celebrated. The paradox is
that as we commit to others, we only then begin to know what it means to be free and fulfilled. True, religious
communities are far from perfect. We’re not supposed to be perfect, just grace-filled. Come let us share the
good news.
Tim
Tim
SICM Food Sunday--We will continue to collect donations for SICM’s Food Pantry.
Each Communion Sunday the children roll up a shopping cart with the donations to be
dedicated. We are adding a new feature beginning this month with a container in which you
can deposit money. These funds will be sent to the Regional Food Bank. The monetary
donations are used to purchase food in bulk, which greatly stretches the buying power of our
dollars. Thank you to all who give so generously.
ANNEX ROOF
As we all know it was a hard winter and our Annex roof did
not fare well. We had leaks in the Pryde Room and in the
Annex. A team is getting estimates for not just the replacement
of the roof, but also for getting heat tape to prevent ice dams
over the soffit in the front of the Annex, (which we believe to be
the reason for most of the leaks).
The rubber roof is nearing the end of its life and the back
section is riddled with patches from when the pine trees fell on it
during the ice storm in 2009. We received an insurance
settlement for replacing one-third of the roof where the damage
was. We kept the money safe hoping the patches would hold
until we needed to replace the entire roof. The good news the
patches have held until this year, so now it is time. (See related
article below).
JUNE WORSHIP
SCHEDULE
June 7
Communion Sunday - Kathy
preaching
June 14
Youth Sunday - Selah playing Kathy preaching (A Woodberry
Crossing meeting will be held
right after the service).
June 21
Last choir Sunday - Tim preaching
June 28
Outdoor worship - Tim preaching
YOUTH
GROUP
The group will have its
final meeting of the
year on Sunday, June
7 from 4:00 to 5:30.
Among the fun games
we will begin to
discuss what we want
to do next year. Will a
retreat
be
a
possibility? Maybe a
weekend work camp
experience? And yes,
we will play one final
game of Sardines.
Finance News
It’s likely that we will need to raise money for roof
repair given the leaking that we had over the
winter. The problems must be addressed this
fall. Although we have been and still are hoping for a
grant from Presbytery, the money would not usually
be allowed for repairs of this type. We have some
funds in our Building Fund but not enough to cover
the expected expense. However, a grant and the
needed roof work may provide the opportunity to
combine building projects in an efficient and cost
effective way (see related article above).
As always, please remember to continue to
fulfill your pledge over the summer months. It’s a
busy time, but bills and payroll must be met! Thank
you.
Laraine Longhurst
Finance Chair
The Route Fifty 5, Trinity's
favorite brass quintet, are
returning to Freedom Park on
Sunday July 26th. This free
concert starts at 7pm, next to
Jumpin' Jack's...we'll see you
there!
Sharing Gratitude…
with special thanks to:
To Nicky, the Mission committee, and the Deacons for the
Cuba Dinner (and of course to Tim for sharing his
experience). It was delicious as ever, and enjoyable and
informative!
To Carole Palmer, Karen Massey, Amy Jessup, Tim
Coombs, and Kathy Gorman-Coombs who did the
mulching and some other outdoor clean up on May 17.
To Steve Parsons for organizing our participation in the
CROP Walk (we are thankful he survived carrying that
water bucket on his head!)--and to all who walked and all
who sponsored walkers.
Mission Thank YOU! School Supply Drive Thanks to all who donated this year!
Collections will resume in August.
If you see sales on the following and
would like to "shop early" schools
could use the following:
-pencils
-glue sticks
-marble & spiral notebooks
-tissues
-dry erase markers
-lined paper -24pack crayons
-pencil pouches
-pocket folders (laminated
preferred~more durable)
If you have any questions, please
ask Linda Rockinger.
To Nancy Virkler for managing our Staples/ink cartridge
credit system and keeping us supplied with paper goods,
office supplies, etc.
To Linda Rockinger and Cara Molyneaux who have
worked to make sure we have supply preachers when the
pastors are away, and also provide support for those
supply preachers.
To Rev Viki Brooks, Campus Minister and Director of
Religious and Spiritual Life at Union College, and Darren
Gundrum, Commissioned Lay Preacher and Elder at
Trinity and Youth Leader at Burnt Hills Methodist, who
provided supply preaching on the last 2 Sundays in May.
To everyone who has added quarters to our tube in the
annex. We have raised enough money to send two
students to the Haiti school for a WHOLE YEAR, and are
well on our way to being able to send a third student!
Since January, sixteen shawls or lap robes, each
accompanied by hand-painted cards and dedicated
during a worship service, have been distributed to folks for
whom we have concern. Thank you to all the crafters.
Trinity’s Jail Ministry We a re i n
n eed of books, bot h for t h e
su m m e r l u nc h prog r a m a nd t h e
jai l m i n is t r y. Ch i ld re n/ yo u n g
a d u l t books a re needed for t h e
su m m e r l u nc h p rogr a m, wi t h a
speci a l
e mp h asis
on
m idd le
re ade rs
and
ch ap te r
books.
Yo u ng ad u l t books a re needed for
t h e jai l m i n is t r y, for t hose wi t h
lower re ad i ng le ve ls. Ple ase see
Pa t W hee le r or Wendi Br a n dow.
A box wil l be pl aced i n t he a n n ex
for col lec t ion. Ge n t l y used is
fi ne.
Summer Book Group and Movie
The Women’s Spirituality Group invites the women and men of the church and friends to discuss the book:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Wednesday July 8, 2015, 5:30 p.m.
and/or to view the movie of the same name starring Gregory Peck
on Wednesday July 15, 2015, 5:30 p.m.
Please bring a snack for yourself or to share.
RSVP by July 2 to Laraine Longhurst at
[email protected] or 384-1140
June
1
Brad Murray, Nancy Virkler
3
Ian Germain
4
Kenneth Palmer, Lois Dodge
6
Josh Storch
7
Jennifer (Boomhower) Leipham
8
Abby Caldwell
10
Rick Longhurst, Emily Massey
11
Nathan Joseph
13
Greg Stevens, Olivia Wheeler
16
Barbara Bishop
17
Carole Palmer
18
Pat Wheeler
21
Bill Statler
22
Barbara Hammerli
24
Jeannette Storch
28
Jim Bishop, Sr., Chris Rockinger
29
Karen Massey
VBS Goes On a
WORLD MISSION CRUISE
Pack your sunscreen and Bibles as VBS goes on a
World Mission Cruise this summer. Our curriculum is
based on the experience “God’s Love Around the World
by Presbyterian World Mission. Our VBS will expand
our children’s ideas about mission, from the local to the
global. Spread the word and plan on taking part August
17-20.
The Scrapbooking Group
Please note the following dates for
scrapbooking this spring:
6/19, 7/31, 8/28
See Amy Jessup with any questions.
June Ushers
6/7
6/14
6/21
6/28
T
F
S
J
& M Peterson
& R Quinn
Parsons & C Molyneaux
& S Savoie
June Counters
6/7
6/14
6/21
6/28
ME Giroux & S Parsons
L Korkosz & J Pietrow
J Gorman & L Korkosz
J Hutchinson & J Brandow
June News from the Haiti Mission School
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven
belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14
We had hardly come back from Haiti with the Bay Road group when it was time to head back. This was
our annual trip to negotiate contracts, set the budget for the coming school year and take the student pictures.
The small plane we usually take from Port Au Prince to Jeremie was still in Venezuela getting a complete
overhaul. I suppose that is the good news and the bad… Bussing across Haiti, even with the new airconditioned busses, is still not my favorite thing to do. But progress is progress and we have been seeing quite
a lot of it lately.
Speaking of progress— they are working hard on the road to Jeremie. Building roads through mountains
such as these is quite a feat. We are pleased to see many Haitians working on the various infrastructure projects.
The truly bad section of the trip is down to about 1 ½ hours now. In Jeremie itself, a number of previously
rocky (not gravel) roads have been paved… the airport runway is supposed to be paved this year… and wonder
of wonders— there was a municipal truck picking up roadside trash…
A blessing for us this trip— After a couple of tries, we finally met with the man from the education
department in Port Au Prince. We assured him that we would welcome the Government’s involvement. He
assured us that he would try, but he cautioned us that Haiti is about to have elections this fall and just as here,
not much happens during the time leading up to the elections, and a new administration may have different
goals.
On Sunday we went to Labastille to worship. We always love
the worship in these small churches… there is so much energy
flowing— No generator is needed-- they provide their own
electricity. One Sunday each month, the students from the school
participate in worship leadership. At one point in the service they
were singing a song for us They each had a song sheet… JoEllen
wondered why they had not learned the song. Suddenly she realized
they were all reading the words! READING THE WORDS! Learning
a new thing! Praise the Lord!
Our last night in Haiti was our
48 wedding anniversary. The young men (translators) had been especially
excited all week. That night we found out why… they had planned a big
celebration for us… a decorated car to bring us to the beautiful hotel where they
put on a big meal with champagne and cake. The ride to the hotel was fun – us
in the decorated car-- the guys riding in the back of a pickup truck ahead of us
with horns blaring, etc. A special night…
th
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday, June 14 will be Youth Sunday, which marks the end of Sunday school
until fall. The children will write the prayers, choose the music for Selah to play
and lead worship. Thanks to Megan Phelps who taught the spring term.
Sunday
7
Monday
Tuesday
1
2
Presbytery at
Silver Bay
Presbytery at
Silver Bay
8
9
Worship 10am
SICM Sunday
Wednesday Thursday
3
4
Friday
Saturday
5
6
12
13
Choir
7:30 pm
10
VBS Planning
Meeting
5 pm
11
Choir
7:30 pm
Bridge Group
Deacons 7 pm
14
15
16
Worship 10am
21
22
23
Worship 10am
17
18
19
Session 7 pm
Choir
7:30 pm
Scrapbooking
5 pm
24
25
26
Choir
7:30 pm
28
29
30
Worship 10 am
Summer
Lunch
Program
Tim and YAP
leave for
Guatemala
Summer Lunch
Program
20
27
Sunday
5
Monday
6
Worship 10am
SICM Sunday
12
13
Tuesday
Wednesday Thursday
Friday
Saturday
4
1
2
3
Summer Lunch
Program
Summer Lunch
Program
Summer Lunch
Program
7
8
9
10
11
Deacons
7:00 pm
Book Group
Discussion
5:30 pm
Choir
7:30 pm
14
15
16
17
18
Book Group
Movie Night
5:30 pm
Choir
7:30 pm
25
Worship 10am
Mission Committee
19
20
21
22
23
24
Worship 10am
Summer Lunch
Program
Summer Lunch
Program
Summer Lunch
Program
Summer Lunch
Program
Summer Lunch
Program
Session Meeting
7:00 pm
Choir
7:30 pm
29
30
31
Choir
7:30 pm
Scrapbooking
5:00 pm
26
Worship 10 am
27
28