‘Do not fear, but believe!’ Mark 5:36b

Nothing holds us in the throes of death so thoroughly as fear. Look within and around you and see if it isn’t true.

mark your calendars! living the questions, an eight-week exploration of faith & community, will return to holy trinity this fall, beginning Tuesday, September 22nd and running Tuesdays through November 10th.

during the week of August 2nd-7th, holy trinity will partner with the diocesan youth program, led by Michelle Klippert, to offer a week-long vacation bible school program called ‘Jesus did what?!,’ in which we’ll invite young people to explore five of the Jesus miracle stories — from healing people to calming storms to raising people from the dead.

during the end of june and into july, the Upward Bound program from Idaho’s Silver Valley will be taking up residence at Camp Cross, where they’ll participate in their own programming, and will join us at Holy Trinity on Wednesdays, June 24th to July 8th.

Over the past several months, leadership from holy trinity and interfaith hospitality have been discussing the continuing — and expanding — need for effective support services for families in transition, including housing and social service transitional wrap-around support.

‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ Mark, ch.4

You might gather from this story that Jesus is only a fair-weather messiah — notably absent in the midst of the storm.

this summer, from July 7-17, Deputies from every diocese in The Episcopal Church (TEC) will gather in Anaheim, CA to meet each other, to share stories of local struggles and successes, and to tend to the work of the church.

there’s a new group meeting every other monday @ 12noon on the grassy knoll by the Riverfront Park clock tower.

I am He, the Trinity; I am He, the unity; I am He, the great supreme goodness of every kind of thing; I am He, who makes you to love; I am He, who makes you to long; I am He, the endless fulfilling of all true desires.
Julian of Norwich (1342-1423)

If we truly believe that we are created in the image and likeness of God, then what we believe about God affects what we believe about ourselves — and vice versa.

‘Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.’
The Book of Acts, ch.2

The Church is a strange creature — at once set both ‘apart from’ and ‘within’ the world we exist to serve. She receives her life from the Holy Spirit, who broods over us as over the primal chaos, and re-creates us to serve God’s purposes.

While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. Luke, ch.24

The story of Jesus’ ascension ‘up into heaven’ has been rich fodder for Christian art and not a few cartoon classics. And for good reason — who doesn’t love the image of Jesus’ cute little feet dangling out from the bottom of a fluffy, white cloud up in the sky?

work is well underway at trinity gardens — clearing our vacant lots, planting our beds, preparing to add more beds, and planning for the addition of a new water system.

what has up to now been two vacant parcels of land at the corner of Elm & Gardner will, over the next couple seasons, be transformed into a combination of open green space and productive vegetable gardens. the vision for the land, which is owned by Holy Trinity and the Diocese of Spokane, is to make it a central gathering place for neighbors in this small pocket of West Central — providing opportunity for tending garden beds together and building community around a common cause.

the easter season is fast coming to a close, as indicated by this thursday’s celebration of the Feast of the Ascension, the day on which Jesus is reported to have been ‘taken up into the heavens.’ Ascension is the hinge feast between Easter, during which we celebrate our brief experience with the risen Jesus, and Pentecost, the day on which we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised would come to be with us and to guide us in his physical absence.

join other ht families on saturday, may 30th @ 4:30pm at Fr. Paul’s house for dinner and conversation about the future of children & family life at holy trinity. Paul and his family will provide the main dish for everyone, and others are invited to bring their favorite food to share with others and any preferred beverages.