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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
Dear Friends:
When I was a kid, and even a young adult . . . the year 2000 seemed so far away . . . “Oh my
gosh, I’ll be 40 that year!” I would think . . . and 40 seemed incredibly old.
As we begin 2015, 40 does not seem so old . . . nor like it was 15 years ago!!! . . . but as time
marches on, it does remind me that it is important to make good use of the life God has given me,
to do what I can to partner with God and others to make the world a little bit more like that new
heaven and earth that God intends.
I have always loved this poem entitled “The Work of Christmas” but only this year did I realize
that it was written by Dr. Howard Thurman, who was a Civil Rights leader and theologian through
the middle of the 20th Century. It’s message and focus on reaching out and making change, along
with the making of music (in the heart) strikes me as very fitting for whom we hope and strive to be
at Trinity:
The Work of Christmas
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers [and sisters],
To make music in the heart.
Dr. Howard Thurman
1899-1981
May this message stay with us to remind us why Jesus came to be among us.
Blessings in 2015 and beyond,
Kathy
YOUTH GROUP
The following note arrived in the mail shortly before Christmas day:
Dear Carolers,
What a blessing you are! That really made Mom’s week or more! Thank you for
Stopping at Capital Living to sing to her (Irene) and lift her spirit. You make a
hug difference in someone’s outlook. Have a wonderful year and manifold returns!
Wendy Sanders
The youth group does make a difference. Be sure to join us for all the fun and events
in the coming year. We will gather Sunday, January 11 to celebrate our confirmation and
Save the Date
then on Sunday, January 25, where with a little luck and snow we will go sledding. See you
soon.
2015 Thruway Accappella Sing Off Concert
Get on the Freeway
Beginning the week before Lent,
Trinity and anyone else who wants to
be part of a new small group
experience are invited to take part in
Freeway.
Freeway is a way to be free. It’s a
six-step guide built upon God’s
amazing grace, conversations with
friends, and personal exploration of
our pain and loss. It includes a
workbook and group study guide that
will lead you to experience God’s love
and freedom.
To become part of Freeway simply
sign up in the Annex by putting what
days and times during the week that
you are available. We will organize
groups to begin the week of February
22. Groups can meet here at Trinity,
but it might be nicer to meet in
members’ homes. It’s up to you.
Freeway cost $20 per participant,
which gets you the workbook and a
DVD for your small group to use to
help in your sessions.
A sample workbook is available to
peruse by the sign-up board in the
Annex. Also, Freeway will be
explained in worship throughout the
winter. Don’t miss this great
opportunity to deepen your faith and
be free!
CONFIRMATION CLASS
At long last the class that began in the
fall of 2013 will be joining us by
profession of faith on January 11.
Congratulations to Rhett Parsons, Skyler
Jessup, and Kelsey Jessup. Thanks to
the class teachers Tim Coombs, Dan
Carusone, and Darren Gundrum. A
special thank you to the mentors Keith
Coombs, Mary Ellen Giroux, Corlin
Bauhofer and Phil Garvey.
Supporting the Community
Land Trust of Schenectady
Friday, February 27
Proctors’ GE Theater
Make plans to come see/hear the Dutch
Pipers, Minstrel Garnets and Eliphalets
along with Accappella groups from two
other yet-to-be-announced colleges from
around the region.
Mission: School Supply Drive We will be adopting Schenectady High for the month of January. They are in need of lined paper, pens and pencils. Thank you to all that donated school supplies during the month of December. Many thanks! Thank you goes out to…
Our elders “retiring” after their terms: Don Wheeler, for serving two
full terms as our Worship chair; Megan Beauchamp, for serving as our
Mission chair these last two years; for Darren Gundrum, who concludes
his time as our Evangelism chair so he can focus more on his new
position as Youth Director at Burnt Hills UMC; and Jen Pietrow for
completing the year term as Administration chair.
Nicky Boehm for coordinating the potluck for the Christmas dinner
Don Wheeler for all the set up and decorations for Advent and
Christmas Eve.
Polly Benjamin and the Sunday school for an awesome pageant.
Susan Vine for years of dedicated service as our church secretary.
Barret Germain and the Tuba Trio for festive pre-pageant music at the
Advent Dinner.
The Route Fifty-Five for splendid brass music on Christmas Eve.
Barret, Maria, and the choir for beautiful music throughout the season,
and especially the variety of music on Christmas Eve, from
“Hallelujah” (Cloverton/Cohen) to “Alleluia” (Randall Thompson).
SELAH, for a diversity of sometimes upbeat, sometimes intense and
moving music throughout the year.
Bev Burnett, who is resigning as Church Treasurer after 9 years on the
job. As everyone who has been treasurer knows, this role involves
many hours of behind the scenes work, a careful eye for accuracy and
detail, sometimes being the bearer of bad news when expenses exceed
outcomes, or rates for non-negotiable items (electricity, etc.) increase,
and all kinds of work that no one (except former church treasurers)
knows about. Thank you Bev, for 9 years of conscientious and precise
record-keeping, and for helping the Session be careful yet pro-active
and responsible in our spending.
Our “Wonderful Life” characters and Advent candle lighters: Don
Wheeler as Peter Bailey; Steve Parsons as Uncle Billy; Linda
Rockinger as Mary Bailey, Louise Gundrum as Mrs. Martini; Kaitlin
Jones as Zuzu (5 PM Christmas Eve) and Annabelle Wheeler as Zuzu
(9 PM Christmas Eve).
EPIPHANY PARTY
Sunday, Jan. 4
Make plans to come to our Epiphany
luncheon on Sunday, January 4. We
begin be “un-decorating” the
sanctuary and then we sit down for a
simple meal and debrief from the
Christmas season. A highlight of the
lunch is to see who will get the
crowns in their piece of the Kings’
cake! Please bring either a chicken
or vegetable based can of soup to
share. Bread and pizza will be
served as well.
SICM Food Sunday
The first Sunday of every month, you are
invited to bring a non-perishable food
item to church. The next collection will
January 4. Place it in the grocery cart at
the back of the sanctuary. At offering
time, some of the children will wheel the
cart up to the front as part of our
"offering" for that week-if you forget to
place it in the cart at the beginning of
worship, you can put it in the cart as it
goes by. See Jean Hayes, Linda
Rockinger or Pat Wheeler with any
questions.
The Rev. Earl Johnson preached and led worship at Trinity twice this past year, while Tim and Kathy were away, and
after the second visit, let us know he was so impressed with the Mission content of our newsletter, that he wanted to use it
as a positive example in a column he would be writing for The Presbyterian Outlook, a longstanding PCUSA publication
that shares news about what is happening in the denomination. Here’s what he wrote about us:
Show me your newsletter and I will show you your faith
December 29, 2014 by Earl S. Johnson Jr.
How well does your church communicate with members and people in your community? One of the most
important public faces of who you are and what is important to you is available to anyone who wants to look at
them in your church newsletter, your website, Facebook page or tweets. Yet, how often do these efforts at selfrevelation end up half-baked or half-hearted?
A newsletter, for example, is usually available to members through the post office or email but can easily
be posted online for everyone. But what does it say about you? Is it clearly and well written? Does it have
attractive graphics? Would you want to read it if you were not a member? Does it provide Web links to local, state,
national, and international programs and institutions that are integral to your life together and are they easily
accessed?
More importantly, what do your printed, posted or digital communications really say about you? Recently I
preached in a church whose newsletter publicized the kind of mission that demonstrates the congregation’s heart
with absolute clarity. Obviously they gathered on Sunday mornings to worship God and have fellowship, but the
newsletter (and their webpage) illustrates that they come together in order to go out and serve the community
around them in the name of Christ. The October newsletter issue of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Scotia, N.Y.,
(scotiatrinity.org) includes a call for volunteers at a local nursing home, an invitation to a jail ministry gathering, a
thank you note from an organization that received a $400 gift, information about a drive for student supplies in an
elementary school, a report about a mission school in Haiti, a notice about a trip to a PC(USA) mission project
supported by women in the church, a plea to gather food for a nearby city urban mission, a call for participation in
a regional effort to protest sexual assault and violence, a request from the YMCA for shoes to be distributed
overseas, an announcement of a fund raiser for a nursing home in the community, and a reminder that the
Peacemaking Offering will be received later in the month. All this activity among Presbyterians in a small
congregation is a reminder of the wisdom in James 3:18 that we often ignore, “Show me your faith apart from
your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.”
In addition to listing mission outside the church, a good newsletter should also announce programs you
offer that help build up readers’ spiritual lives and enable them to get to know one another. Do you still have
church suppers or lunches to foster fellowship? If not, how would new people meet your members or their
neighbors? Do you offer Bible study and discussion of current theological and current issues? If not, how do
people find out what you believe? Are you well organized so outsiders who are already busy can easily join your
volunteer programs?
Church bulletins, newsletters, websites and Facebook pages are today’s digital billboards. If yours could
be improved, ask insiders and outsiders to do some proofreading and tell you honestly what they see. If they are
boring or uninspiring why not hire a consultant to suggest new ways to communicate your faith and mission in
public forums? It may be one of the best investments you could make next year. As Paul reminded his readers,
how are our neighbors going to call on Jesus Christ if they have never heard of him? And how are they supposed
to see, hear and enact a gospel that no one has proclaimed in ways they can access and understand (Romans
10:14-16)?
If you would like to read more in The Presbyterian Outlook, the URL for the online version is http://presoutlook.org. To read full articles, you will need to register and choose a user name, but to have an online
subscription is free.
Annual Reports due Sunday, January 4
To be published Sunday, January 18
A week before the annual Congregational Meeting
Trinity’s Prayer Chain is a form of ministry in which members
pray for concerns brought to their attention in the form of a telephone
chain. Please contact Shirley Savoie at 557-3070 or email her at
[email protected] You may also contact Kathy Gorman-Coombs using
her email [email protected] or phone 441-9286 with any concern that you
have.
January
1
Kelsey Jessup
10
Tony Caruvana
12
Jennifer Pietrow,
The Scrapbooking Group
Irene Sanders,
Alec Massey ,
Barrett Germain
16
Daniel Clune,
Louise Gundrum,
Maria Arket Nagle
18
Scrapbooking will resume at Trinity in
January. Keep an eye out in the
bulletin for upcoming dates.
See Amy Jessup with any questions.
Kyle Coombs,
Cheryl Harris
21
Bill Palmer
24
Adam Murray,
Cameron Bishop
25
Ed Hutchinson, Jr.
27
Bridget Caldwell
31
Luke Brandow
If I have missed your special day please let me
know. Just drop me a line at
[email protected]
January Ushers
1/4 J. & A. Hutchison
1/11 M.E. Giroux and M. Boomhower
1/18 J.& S. Savoie
1/25 C. Molyneaux and P. Garvey
January Counters
1/4
R. & L. Longhurst
1/11 A. Jessup & G. Pietrow
1/18 R. & L. Longhurst
1/25 M. Beauchamp
For 2015, our projected expenses exceed our projected income significantly. Session worked hard to reduce as
much of this as possible, and one reduction is to only have a paid Nursery worker every other Sunday. This
means that we will be seeking volunteers to staff the Nursery on the Sundays when Laki, our regular Nursery
w orker, is not there. In January, this means we w ill need volunteers for January 4 and 18th; Laki will be here on
the 11th and the 25th. See Jen Parsons or Tim Coombs if you can help.
Sunday
4
Monday
5
Worship 10am
SICM FOOD
SUNDAY
11
Tuesday
6
Wednesday Thursday
7
Deacons 7 pm
12
13
14
Worship 10am
Confirmation
Friday
Saturday
1
2
3
8
9
10
Choir
Trinity Night Out
5:30 p.m.
Clinton’s Ditch
15
16
17
Choir
Youth Group
18
Worship 10am
19
25
Worship 10am
Annual
Congregational
Meeting
26
Kathy away
Kathy away
Youth Group
20
21
22
23
24
Session 7 pm
Choir
Kathy away
Kathy away
27
28
29
30
31
Kathy away
Kathy away
Kathy away
Kathy away
Kathy away
Choir
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
1
2
3
Worship 10am
SICM FOOD
SUNDAY
Kathy away
Deacons 7 pm
9
10
Wednesday Thursday
4
5
Friday
Saturday
6
7
13
14
20
21
28
Choir
Kathy away
8
11
Worship 10am
15
Choir
16
17
Worship 10am
22
Worship 10am
12
23
24
18
19
Session 7 pm
Choir
25
26
27
Choir
Thruway Concert
CLT Fundraiser