Dear Friends,

All of [the apostles] were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. . . each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, . . . ‘how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? --Acts 2:4, 6-8

On May 11, we will be hearing the story of this amazing event in the life of the early Church as we celebrate Pentecost. This story is not just some interesting tale of the distant past. It tells us something about how we should be living as the Church today.

Teenagers and people in their seventies speak different languages, not only in their speech, but In the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, the games they play, the TV shows they watch, the way they use technology. There are also differences in “language” between the poor and the comfortably fixed, male and female, black and white, gay and straight, liberal and conservative.

There is one common language that transcends all of these divisions: Christ’s language of dying and rising, of overcoming separation by reconciliation. Our calling is to speak this language of Christ. If we can do this effectively, we, like the apostles, can be understood by anyone. That it what it means to be a church where all are welcome.

Father John

Time, Talent, and Treasure.

We have heard these three words frequently through our Christian life, especially during our annual stewardship campaign. In our small church most have made a gift of their Treasure, but what of our Time and Talent?

Time can be defined as the amount of time we give freely to do God’s work. Many of us take off from work or attend evening meetings and rehersals willingly. This is the time that the stewardship of all of our time comes together and practical relationships with our family, friends, and our Church come to the forefront. In addition, each of us has many talents. The stewardship of talent calls us to search out those talents, nurture them, and help them to grow, and then share them with each other. At Trinity, we have a wide diversity of talents, many of which we see every Sunday.

Have you noticed however, that many of the persons you see during parts of the service are also serving coffee, sweeping the floor, washing the dishes, counting the offering, and many of the other small tasks within the Parish? We have a small congregation, but we also have a smaller core of people that willingly give up their time and talent.

Trinity needs your time and talent to expand that core of people. If you are not yet active within a ministry, consider joining one of the many ministries where you would be welcome, such as Altar Guild, Acolyte, ECW, Usher, Choir, and Lay Reader or some of the Church functions such as coffee hours, welcome kits, potlucks, youth, Lunch on Noble, offering counter, building maintenance, or webmaster. There are even two duties that pay a small amount to perform, Sexton (Janitor), and rental property manager.

If you would like to get involved, please let Fr John, the office, myself, or any Vestry member know of your wishes.

John Christopher, Senior Warden

A Table?

Can you donate a movable table to replace the rather rickety and battered card table we use for various purposes in our services? Please call the church office at 282-0982.

SERVING IN MAY 2008
	May 4 Easter 7	May 11 Pentecost	May 18 Pentecost 1	May 25 Pentecost 2
READER	John Pearson	Barbara Tennison	Donna Bennett	John Christopher
USHERS	Ed Oliver, Carrol Ogden	Tim and Diane Naff	Travis Dodgion, Shane Dodgion	David Tennison, Ed Oliver
SERVER	Matthew McCormack	Michael McCormack	Matthew McCormack	Michael McCormack
ALTAR GUILD	Diane Naff
FLOWERS		Lynn and Karen Hansen	Travis and Shane Dodgion	(available— please sign up)
TEACHING CHILDREN	Sarah Moore	Sarah Moore	Sarah Moore	Sarah Moore
COFFEE HOST	Potluck Lunch	Peggy Luckett	(available—please sign up)	(available—please sign up)
VESTRY OF THE WEEK	John Pearson	Donna Bennett	Peggy Luckett	Pat Christopher
OFFERING COUNTERS (with VESTRY OF THE WEEK	Marilyn Branch	Barbara Tennison	Mona Jones	Blanche Hanks

You will be receiving a note from our treasurer, Pat Christopher, with information on your donations to Trinity for the first quarter of 2008. Please call Pat at 260-0424 if you have any questions, or if the information you receive does not agree with your records.
National Day of Prayer observance on May 1

The Guthrie Ministerial Alliance and our city government host a breakfast for the National Day of Prayer at 7:00 AM at Granny Had One, 113 W. Harrison Ave. All are welcome.

ECW meets on Saturday, May 3

All adult women at Trinity are invited to the meeting of our Episcopal Church Women group at 10:30 AM on Saturday, May 3. Please bring a sack lunch.

Potluck Lunch after Church on May 4

Bring something yummy to share with your Trinity friends.

Theater Party at the Pollard for Peter Pan on May 4

Trinity is sponsoring a family theater party for families with young children on Sunday, May 4. Any families with young children are invited to attend the May 4 performance of Peter Pan at the Pollard Theater. Child care will be provided at Trinity Church for children too young to enjoy the performance. All are invited to come to the church for ice cream following the show. The cost will be $20.00 per family. Call the church at 282-0982 for more information, or to make a reservation. All are welcome.

Mothers’ Day Breakfast on May 11

The men of Trinity will host a breakfast for all of our parish’s moms on May 11 at 9:30 AM in the parish hall. We hope all of mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, great great (well you get the idea) will be with us and let us honor you.

Wear something red on Pentecost, May 11!

Remember in your prayers. . . Roland Hanks, who entered the VA hospital for treatment on April 23. . . Lloyd Pruitt, brother-in-law of Linda Pruitt, who is being treated for cancer. . . the children and grandchildren of Carrie Vontress, our nursery attendant and secretary.
Who owns the congregation?

The great management consultant Peter Drucker wrote that the core mission of all social-sector organizations is “changed lives.” The specific mission of a congregation is its answer to the question, “Whose lives do we intend to change and in what way?” A congregation that limits its vision to pleasing its members falls short of its true purpose. Growth, expanding budgets, building programs, and such trappings of success matter only if they reflect positive transformation in the lives of people touched by the congregation’s work.

The job of congregational leaders—boards, clergy, lay leaders, and staff—is not to “give the members what they want.” For one thing, if the only mission is to current members, the congregation will soon die. And so the mission must be not only to change the lives of members but of others yet to join. A real problem with democracy in congregations is that future members do not vote. If they did, at every meeting they would make up a majority.

Another reason congregations cannot simply “give the members what they want” is that part of the mission is to teach people to want things that they don’t want. Members of vital congregations testify to many ways the congregation has drawn them out of themselves into voluntary service, sacrificial changes of career, and hard work for social justice. Sometimes I ask such people, “What would you have done if someone warned you how joining this congregation would transform your life?” Generally they admit, “I would have run the other way!” Pleasing people—members, future members, leaders, or anybody else—is not the mission. The mission is to change lives.

Who, then, is the owner of a congregation? Who plays the role of stockholders in a business? Not the members. Not the board. Not the clergy or the bishop or the staff. These all are fiduciaries whose duty is to serve the owner. Symbolically, we might say God or Jesus is the owner. But God’s whole will is too big to guide one congregation. Instead, the board’s job is to discern our mission, the small piece of God’s intention that belongs to us. Or to put it differently, our job is to find the mission we belong to, the real owner for whose benefit we hold and deploy the congregation’s resources.

From the April 21, 2008 Alban Weekly, a publication fo the Alban Institute. Dan Hotchkiss is a senior consultant at the Alban Institute. “Who Owns a Congregation?” originally appeared in the March 2008 issue of Clergy Journal and is reprinted with permission.

Our leaders under god’s leadership The Most Reverend Rowan Williams Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the Anglican Communion The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church The Right Reverend Edward J. Konieczny Bishop of Oklahoma The Reverend John E. Borrego Rector of Trinity Church The Reverend Karen Hansen Deacon at Trinity Church Brenda McCormack Organist Sherry Canning and Carrie Vontress Church Secretaries Diane Naff Altar Guild Director Carrie Vontress Nursery Attendant The Vestry John Christopher, Senior Warden Larry Bixler, Junior Warden Donna Bennett, Clerk Pat Christopher, Treasurer Harley Campbell Sue Durkee Peggy Luckett John Pearson And all of the members of Trinity Church